Gone was Christian LeBlanc, who portrayed Officer Junior Abernathy and added were two new regular characters—Joanne St. John (played by Lois Nettleton), the chief's sometime girlfriend and owner of the local diner, The Magnolia Cafe; and rookie officer Wilson Sweet (Geoffrey Thorne), fresh out of the Police Academy. The season also introduced the first of several new recurring characters, including Doctor (or, "Doc") Frank Robb, the county coroner (played by veteran actor Dan Biggers). "The Creek" saw the introduction of the first new police character and the second prominent Georgia performer to claim a regular role on the series, Officer Randy Goode (1988–1993) played by Randall Franks, who was cast following the show's move to Covington. "Gunshot", where Virgil experiences extreme guilt and mental trauma after he shoots and kills a female robbery suspect, introduces a character that had a criminal past but later became invaluable in supplying Gillespie and the Sparta P.D. with information, Jimmy Dawes (Afemo Omilami).