5.6
/10
Officer Ken Covey is a fictional character portrayed by Harvey E. Lee Jr. in the TV series In the Heat of the Night.
They appear in 48 episodes out of a total of 146 aired

Officer Ken Covey

by Harvey E. Lee Jr.

character

Episodes48

  • 8.7
    /10

    A Small War: Part 1
    episode S6.E1 october 1992
    While Sparta's police chief William O. 'Bill' Gillespie celebrates a mis-trial with Harriet DeLong, they worry about her son Eugene Glendon, who is out on probation. He was tricked into waiting in his friend Byron's car while Byron bought cocaine from dealer Clay Wilson. The crack pusher gang 'the Crew' from Jackson kills both by shooting through the wall. Sparta's police investigates and tries to keep the drug pests from spreading from the city. The Crew returns to spread free drug samples, soon causing an OD wave.
  • 8.5
    /10

    A Small War: Part 2
    episode S6.E2 november 1992
    Despite his disdain for Bill Gillespie, Harriet's son Eugene helps the Sparta Police bring down the crack house after he is an eyewitness to his best friend's drug-related murder.
  • 8.3
    /10

    Brother's Keeper
    episode S6.E3 november 1992
    Luann is furious when her slacker brother returns and is immediately accused of robbing a shady sports bar. Her mother is in denial and insists her son has changed.
  • 8.1
    /10

    A Frenzied Affair
    episode S6.E4 november 1992
    A troubled high school student murders his ex-girlfriend's lover, then fixes it so her stepfather is blamed for the crime. Althea suffers a nervous breakdown after witnessing the student's suicide.
  • 8.2
    /10

    Discovery
    episode S6.E5 november 1992
    Virgil enlists the help of Dr. Levi Atwill to help bring Althea out of her funk and return to her teaching job. The murder investigation is complicated when the dead student's ex-girlfriend acquires yet another boyfriend who murders her stepfather and seriously injured one of Gillespie's good friends.
  • 8.5
    /10

    Random's Child
    episode S6.E6 november 1992
    Bill Gillespie makes peace with his estranged daughter after she comes to Sparta to settle her deceased mother's affairs.
  • 7.8
    /10

    An Occupational Hazard
    episode S6.E7 december 1992
    Computer thieves provide a man with a window of opportunity to cover up for his wife's violent retaliation against her abusive boss.
  • 7.8
    /10

    Last Rights
    episode S6.E8 december 1992
    The doctor treating Virgil's dying aunt is the chief suspect in a series of mercy killings.
  • 7.2
    /10

    When the Music Stopped
    episode S6.E9 december 1992
    A washed up country singer, whose biggest fan is Bubba Skinner, is accused of the murder of his former road manager.
  • 8.2
    /10

    Flowers from a Lady
    episode S6.E10 january 1993
    Bubba is first on the scene of a carjacking and first in the heart of the victim, a city council woman with a history of "man problems".
  • 8.5
    /10

    Private Sessions
    episode S6.E11 january 1993
    When a young woman takes her life by jumping off a bridge, her boyfriend, who is also Virgil's law school classmate, stands accused of her murder.
  • 8.1
    /10

    Judgment Day
    episode S6.E12 january 1993
    A prominent judge's wife threatens to reveal a skeleton in his closet unless he grants her a lucrative divorce.
  • 8.1
    /10

    Falsely Accused
    episode S6.E13 february 1993
    Wilson Sweet's job is put on the line when he is accused of soliciting a bribe from a shady used car salesman.
  • 7.5
    /10

    A Step Removed
    episode S6.E14 february 1993
    A threat made in anger makes Parker's stepfather the prime suspect in the murder of his former boss.
  • 7.7
    /10

    Deadly Affection
    episode S6.E15 february 1993
    A single mother is harassed by her landlord, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
  • 7.8
    /10

    Leftover Man: Part 1
    episode S6.E16 march 1993
    When a racist politician visits Sparta during his political rally, a staged assassination attempt intended to make him look better to his perspective voters goes horribly wrong.
  • 7.8
    /10

    Leftover Man: Part 2
    episode S6.E17 march 1993
    The Sparta Police investigate when it is discovered that the murder attempt may not have been staged after all.
  • 7.8
    /10

    A Dish Best Served Cold
    episode S6.E18 march 1993
    When an embezzler returns to Sparta after serving a prison sentence, quite a few people become suspects when the man is killed.
  • 7.7
    /10

    Legacy
    episode S6.E19 march 1993
    A man is determined to make sure a young woman does not receive her inheritance, promised by his grandfather 3 decades earlier.
  • 7.6
    /10

    Even Nice People
    episode S6.E20 april 1993
    Shady real estate developers try to drive Gillespie's daughter out of her property, in order to make way for a new development project.
  • 8.2
    /10

    Lake Winahatchie
    episode S6.E21 may 1993
    The common-law husband of Lana's mother returns to Sparta and tries to extort money from the land developers, who are eventually driven out of town.
  • 8.3
    /10

    A Correct Settling
    episode S6.E22 may 1993
    Sparta Police investigate the possibility of a prison bishop being forced off the road being racially motivated. Bill Gillespie and Harriet Delong discuss taking their relationship to the next level.
  • 8.7
    /10

    Child's Play
    episode S7.E1 september 1993
    Many changes come to Sparta. Virgil Tibbs has left the Sparta Police Department and he, Althea and their twins have returned to Philadelphia, PA so Virgil can complete his law school studies. Bill Gillespie has been voted out as chief and is replaced by FBI Agent Hampton Forbes from Memphis, TN. Forbes inherits the case of a reclusive man who is murdered as he is awaiting trial for manslaughter.
  • 8.2
    /10

    Hatton's Turn: Part 1
    episode S7.E2 september 1993
    Gillespie gets the last laugh against the city council when he is named Newman County Sheriff to replace an ailing Will McComb, who has suffered a heart attack. As county sheriff, Gillespie's first case is that of a triple murder, where the investigation points to a good natured, mentally challenged teenage boy.
  • 8.6
    /10

    Hatton's Turn: Part 2
    episode S7.E3 september 1993
    Gillespie and Forbes become fast friends when both police forces team up and solve the triple murder. Attorney Wade Hatton returns to Sparta and hopes to rekindle a romance from the past with Sarah Hallisey.
  • 8.9
    /10

    A Depraved Heart
    episode S7.E4 september 1993
    Bubba Skinner is determined to have a womanizing real estate agent charged with attempted murder after the man knowingly infected Bubba's friend with HIV.
  • 7.5
    /10

    Incident at Brewer's Pond
    episode S7.E5 september 1993
    A local drunk kills the man he believed was having an affair with his wife.
  • 8.2
    /10

    A Love Lost
    episode S7.E6 october 1993
    When Lana's ex-boyfriend comes to Sparta, dim-witted Randy Calhoun stumbles upon the real reason for his visit: an illegal gun running operation.
  • 8.6
    /10

    Singin' the Blues
    episode S7.E7 october 1993
    Luann moonlights as a singer at her boyfriend's new nightclub and she unwittingly uncovers a drug dealing operation run by the bartender.
  • 8.2
    /10

    Virgil Tibbs: Attorney at Law
    episode S7.E8 november 1993
    Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta with a law degree, news of his failed marriage and a murder suspect to defend.
  • 8.3
    /10

    A Baby Called Rocket
    episode S7.E10 november 1993
    Luann tries desperately to adopt a baby that was abandoned in a crack house raid.
  • 8.3
    /10

    Little Girl Lost
    episode S7.E11 december 1993
    A hit-and-run accident caused by an alcoholic teenager claims the life of a 10-year-old girl.
  • 7.4
    /10

    Your Own Kind
    episode S7.E12 december 1993
    An interracial high school couple is the target of a racist sniper on the Sparta High School field.
  • 8.1
    /10

    Good Cop, Bad Cop
    episode S7.E13 january 1994
    Virgil defends Parker Williams when he is accused of police brutality during an arrest involving Parker's ex-fiance.
  • 7.8
    /10

    Maybelle Returns
    episode S7.E14 january 1994
    Former madam Maybelle Chesboro returns to Sparta and opens up a phone sex operation disguised as a communications business.
  • 7.9
    /10

    The Last Round
    episode S7.E15 january 1994
    Angela Dolphy, Chief Forbes's fiancée, is in Sparta from Memphis for a week to entice Forbes to change professions before they get married. The chief arranges a dinner with Bill Gillespie and Harriet DeLong to coax Angela to relocate to Sparta. An example of Forbes's work is the new boxing program for at risk young men. Unfortunately, the finest boxer, African-American Kevin "Cat" Brooks, is involved with a professional burglar, Caucasian Dennis Cantrell, in a series of home invasions and robberies. Forbes and Angela must come to terms with their personal goals and the impact on their relationship.
  • 7.7
    /10

    Ches and the Grand Lady
    episode S7.E16 january 1994
    Jazz musician Ches Collins returns to Sparta and it is soon evident that he has a history with Cordelia, the grande dame of Sparta. Cordelia's nephew, Raoul, will stop at nothing to put an end to any hope of a union between the two. It is up to Cordelia's other nephew, Lonnie Jameson, to put an end to Raoul's antics.
  • 7.2
    /10

    The Rabbi
    episode S7.E18 february 1994
    A synagogue comes to Sparta and is quickly vandalized and robbed. The Rabbi does not believe Sheriff Gillespie is worthy of investigating the incident.
  • 7.5
    /10

    Hard Choices
    episode S7.E19 march 1994
    Eugene Glendon is accused of committing a robbery after he tries to persuade the real suspect not to go through with it.
  • 7.6
    /10

    Time's Long Shadow
    episode S7.E20 march 1994
    Womanizer Frank Davenport is the general contractor on a large residential project in Sparta that threatens an area of slave artifacts. He is also having a torrid affair with his new secretary, Cindy Jenk, whose father Gus is a protective hot head. There are hard feelings, even fights, among the townspeople who either support or oppose stopping the construction project to save the antiquities. It is a toss-up who will get to Davenport first.
  • 7.5
    /10

    Poor Relations
    episode S7.E21 march 1994
    In a somewhat comical episode, Parker's stepfather returns to Sparta with his new wife and runs Parker out of house and home. Among Roy's possessions is an ornate painting, the value of which Roy is unaware.
  • 8.6
    /10

    Dangerous Engagement
    episode S7.E22 may 1994
    A newspaper misprint makes Bill Gillespie the target of an escaped killer in the days leading up to he and Harriet's wedding. Bill and Harriet are married in a beautiful, simple ceremony with Chief Forbes serving as best man.
  • 7.7
    /10

    Give Me Your Life: Part 1
    episode S7.E23 may 1994
    Sparta Police and the Newman County Sheriff's Department join forces to investigate the antics of a religious cult that has taken up residence in an abandoned school building.
  • 8.3
    /10

    Give Me Your Life: Part 2
    episode S7.E24 may 1994
    The investigation uncovers evidence of statutory rape and drug dealing within the cult. It is further complicated by the actions of an overly aggressive newspaper reporter, as well as the discovery of school age children being members of the cult. But in the end, teamwork pays off and everyone is driven out.
  • 7.5
    /10

    A Matter of Justice
    episode S8.E1 october 1994
    An local retired judge's depraved grandson goes on a serial killing spree in Sparta.
  • 7.4
    /10

    Who Was Geli Bendl?
    episode S8.E2 december 1994
    A former resident of the bottoms, who is now a famous movie star, returns to Sparta to try to persuaded her sister to go after a better quality of life.
  • 7.6
    /10

    By Duty Bound
    episode S8.E3 february 1995
    When Gillespie runs for a permanent position as county sheriff, his running mate is investigated for allegations of insurance fraud, corruption and murder.
  • 7.7
    /10

    Grow Old Along with Me
    episode S8.E4 may 1995
    When a former cop marries a wealthy widow, his ex-girlfriend sees an opportunity for blackmail. But their plan to keep her quiet and out of their lives does not exactly go as planned.