Actor Role Carroll O'Connor Starred in the lead role of William O. `` Bill '' Gillespie . Gillespie was a tough but honorable small city police chief . At first somewhat resentful of Virgil Tibbs , Gillespie would later become very close to Virgil and the rest of the Tibbs family . It should be noted that their relationship in the TV series is much less adversarial than it is in the film version . For the first six seasons he was the chief of the Sparta Police Department until he was fired by the city council at the beginning of the 7th season . He would then become interim County Sheriff after the previous Sheriff became too ill to continue his duties . Gillespie would become the permanent Sheriff by the end of the series . Chief Gillespie was a World War 2 Veteran and identified himself as serving with a colored man in the 227th Military Police ( it is assumed the 227th was a colored unit and Gillespie was the commanding officer ) . Gillespie had a penchant for wearing high - powered sidearms such as the Colt Python and later a brushed chrome Desert Eagle . Gillespie was married at one time to Anna , his Italian war bride whom he brought home from his WWII service in Italy . Anna became pregnant - both she and their son would die in childbirth . He also had an older daughter Lana , played by Christine Elise . Gillespie eventually fell in love with Harriett DeLong . Throughout the series run , O'Connor was one of the actors to appear in every episode of the series on both networks ( NBC ) and ( CBS ) , with the exception of four shows near the end of the 1988 - 89 season that he missed while recovering from open heart surgery . Howard Rollins Starred in the lead role of Virgil Tibbs . Virgil had grown up in Sparta but later moved north and became a police detective in Philadelphia , PA . He would later return to Sparta after being offered a job as chief of detectives and the rank of Captain with the city police department . At first Tibbs and Gillespie butted heads , but would soon become close friends - Gillespie even became Godfather to Virgil and Althea 's twins . Tibbs also initially clashed with Bubba early in the series , but after helping Bubba clear his name during a case where he was falsely accused of rape , they became good friends as well . Even though some city council members wanted to make him chief , Tibbs firmly rebuffed their offers , preferring to work with Gillespie . After continued legal problems , Rollins was dropped from the series in 1993 , and Tibbs was written out of the series as having left the community following his graduation from law school and becoming an attorney in private practice . Rollins would return as a guest star several times during the 7th season in his new profession , attorney at law . Alan Autry Played Virgil Lawrence `` Bubba '' Skinner . At first Bubba was something of a redneck . Intimidating and physically powerful , he was never afraid to use force when needed , but despite his rough exterior , he was a good man deep down . He was also a sort of ladies ' man around Sparta , as he always seemed to have a new girlfriend . He was known to turn female heads - including that of Althea Tibbs who refers to him as a `` hunk . '' Bubba was deeply resentful of Virgil 's presence on the police force at first , clashing with him on several occasions . He eventually became close friends with the Tibbs family , particularly after Virgil helped clear his name in a false allegation of rape . As the series progresses , Bubba is shown to be a brave and honorable man who is more complex and intelligent than people give him credit for . Through the course of the series , Bubba became more racially tolerant , referring to bigots and racists as `` knotheads . '' Bubba was also from a large family , and was shown several times during the series to be an expert shot with a rifle . When the Sparta police needed a sniper ( such as when Captain Tibbs 's wife Althea was taken hostage in the episode `` ... And then you die , '' ) it was Skinner who took the shot with a scoped rifle kept in the trunk of his squad car . Bubba carried a Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver in his belt holster like most of the other Sparta police officers . In Season 1 , Bubba 's rank seemed to be patrolman but was never explicitly stated . By Season 2 's premiere he was a Sergeant . Eventually he rose to the rank of Captain before Gillespie left the Sparta Police . In Season 5 , it is revealed that Bubba 's first and middle initials are V.L. Bubba also always wore `` white socks '' with his uniform . Bubba usually was the one who was asked to arrest the tougher suspects due to his large size and immense strength . Anne - Marie Johnson Starred as Virgil 's wife , teacher and counselor Althea Tibbs . She starred in that role for six seasons . Althea 's life in Sparta was difficult -- she was raped at the beginning of the third season , and later suffered a mental breakdown after witnessing the suicide of one of her students . Althea did not reappear for the 7th season , and her character was written out as Althea had been separated from Virgil and moved back to Pennsylvania . Lois Nettleton Played Joanne St. John from 1988 to 1989 . She was the owner of the Magnolia Cafe , a popular eatery in Sparta ( as seen in the show 's opening ) . After it was revealed that Joanne was once a prostitute , she eventually left Sparta . David Hart Played Parker Williams . He was a very perceptive character . He genuinely loved the people of Sparta whom he had sworn to serve and protect , and he often sensed when someone was hurting . Parker knew everybody in town and was able to get through to them because of his kindness . Parker generally sat behind the dispatcher 's desk , handling the telephone and radio , although he also was assigned to patrol duty . In 1994 , he rose to the rank of Senior Sergeant . Parker was a Vietnam veteran , as explained in the episode `` My Name is Hank . '' As a comic relief , Parker always had a Mason jar of sweet tea on his desk , including when he was at the Tibbs 's house for Christmas in the episode `` Blessings . '' Parker can be seen holding his tea jar with a Christmas bow stuck on it . Christian LeBlanc Portrayed Junior Abernathy , a patrolman seen only during Season 1 . Junior was a young and inexperienced policeman who often was chastised by Detective Tibbs or Chief Gillespie for not knowing proper police procedure . However , Junior often rose to the occasion to assist in arrests or at other incidents in Sparta . Geoffrey Thorne Joined the cast as Wilson Sweet in 1988 . Aside from Tibbs , Sweet was one of the first black men to join the force . His ambition was to rise in the ranks of the Sparta police force and become Sparta 's first black Police Chief - a part which was eventually played by Carl Weathers . The character disappeared in Season 7 after Thorne left the show and was never mentioned again . Hugh O'Connor Played the role of Lonnie Jamison , an officer and senior investigator on the Sparta police force . Lonnie eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant and Acting Chief of Detectives . Lonnie was a very capable officer and took his job seriously . He usually had a serious and straightforward personality , with a dry humor that always fit the moment , and he was an amiable and friendly person overall . One of the many facets of Lonnie 's character was fierce , never - give - up loyalty to his friends . A prime example of that loyalty occurred over several episodes as Lonnie 's friendship with Harriet DeLong 's son Eugene . Lonnie was Eugene 's track team coach at Sparta High , and it was Lonnie Jamison who was able to get through to the young man when Eugene 's father was being tried for murder , episode `` No Other Road . '' Later , in `` A Small War , '' when Eugene 's friend was killed in a drive - by at a drug pusher 's house , Lonnie tried to convince Eugene to talk about what he had witnessed . Eugene resisted , testing Lt. Jamison 's patience , but when Eugene agreed to help the police identify the shooter , it was Lonnie who drove him up to Jackson . Actually , Lonnie let Eugene drive , and they took Jamison 's Corvette . That scene was another example of Lonnie helping to get through to Eugene . Lonnie was a crack shot with a rifle and was often selected by Chief Gillespie to handle a situation requiring a long range rifle shot , as in episodes `` My Name is Hank , '' `` An Eye for An Eye , '' and `` CrackDown . '' Along with Bubba , the Sparta Police had a very lethal sniper team . Carl Weathers Joined the cast in the final season as Police Chief Hampton Forbes . He was picked to lead the department after the controversial firing of Bill Gillespie . Forbes was the first black chief of the department and a 20 - year veteran of the Memphis , TN , police department , serving in one of the four police districts in the city of Memphis . He retired from the MPD to become the new Police Chief in Sparta . Forbes became friends with Gillespie and often worked closely with him when Gillespie became county sheriff . Crystal R. Fox Played Luanne Corbin . After the first black woman to join the force , Officer Christine Rankin , died in the line of duty on her first day on the job , Corbin was recruited to take her place . Crystal was featured in the episode `` Singin ' the Blues , '' which gave her the opportunity to display her talent as a singer as well as a fine actress . Her beautiful singing voice was also featured in the episode `` Odessa , '' where she sang the Gospel song `` Jesus Savior , Pilot Me . '' Denise Nicholas Played Sparta City Council woman Harriet DeLong . Harriet 's relationship with Chief Gillespie was deeply adversarial in the beginning , and the two clashed often when she first appeared on the show . But over the course of the series , Harriet saw Gillespie 's softer , more caring side and began to think more fondly of him . By the time Denise Nicholas became a series regular , Harriet and Gillespie were becoming a couple , much to the disapproval of her son , Eugene . In the two - part episode , `` Citizen Trundel , '' Harriet 's sister , Natalie was the mistress of conniving businessman , V.J. Trundel , who later had her murdered . They had a son named Eric from their illicit affair , and Harriet eventually gained custody of him after Trundel committed suicide by deliberately crashing his private airplane after a confrontation about the murder with Gillespie . Emily Trundel , V.J. 's estranged widow , attempted to gain custody of Eric in the following season , but only succeeded in gaining visitation rights , something Harriet deeply opposed . Randall Franks Played Officer Randy Goode ( 1988 -- 1993 ) Randy Goode began his work on the series as a partner to Wilson Sweet in `` The Creek ; '' he soon began driving Chief Gillespie and Detective Tibbs around . Harvey E. Lee Jr . Played Officer Ken Covey . ( Joined the show in the sixth season . ) Mark Johnson Played Officer Luke Everett . ( Joined the show in the sixth season . )

Question: who played junior on in the heat of the night
Answer: Christian LeBlanc