A white powdery substance believed to be narcotics was discovered on the body of a 42-year-old Florida pastor who was discovered dead in a hotel room in Times Square, a law enforcement official said Monday.
The cause of death for Rev. Zachery Tims, Jr., who led an 8,000-member ministry in Orlando, was still pending.
Tims’ body was found Friday afternoon when housekeepers at the W Hotel attempted to clean his room but found it latched from the inside. Hotel security opened the door and found Tims lying on his back between the bedroom and living room area.
According to a law enforcement official, police found a glassine envelope with a white powdery substance inside the right pocket of his shorts. The substance was being tested, according to a law enforcement official.
Another law enforcement official familiar with the case said, “what that white powdery substance is and whether it played a role in Mr. Tims’ death is still to be determined.”
There were no signs of trauma to his body and at this point criminality is not suspected, officials said. Detectives spoke with his family members and it appears Tims died in possession of his jewelry and other belongings.
Tims was in town for a meeting and was supposed to leave for Texas last Thursday, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter. He failed to check out that day and on Friday, when he still had not checked out, maids went to the room.
Tims grew up as a drug addict in Maryland and was later “miraculously saved,” according to his website and a memoir published in 2006. After discovering Christianity, he earned degrees in accounting and theology and worked at a ministry in Baltimore. In 1996, he and his wife Riva moved to Orlando, where they founded the New Destiny Christian Center.
At the ministry’s first service, six people gathered in a hotel room, according to the ministry’s website. In 1999, they purchased a church and two years later, the ministry expanded to a second 21-acre-location dubbed “City of Destiny.”
In 2009, Tims and his wife Riva divorced after he admitted to a year-long affair with a stripper. The couple had been married for 15 years and had four children.
As news of Tims’ death circulated, condolences poured in from around the country. Mourners arrived at his church, seeking answers and posted messages of shock and sadness on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
“I join many others in being saddened by the news of the death of Rev. Zachery Tims of Florida,” tweeted Rev. Al Sharpton.
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