
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990                   TAG: 9003310644
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE SHENANDOAH BUREAU
DATELINE: LEXINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

EX-AIDE GUILTY IN CHASE

Tom Morke, the former legal aide suspected of burglarizing some 50 homes in Lexington and Rockbridge County, was convicted Friday on two traffic charges stemming from his arrest.

Morke, who authorities said was spotted breaking into a house Jan. 26, eluded sheriff's deputies following a short chase. He later turned himself in at the office of a local attorney.

He was convicted Friday by General District Court Judge Joseph Hess of reckless driving and attempting to elude a police officer who had signaled him to stop.

Hess sentenced Morke to 10 days in jail on each count.

The one-time legal aide to Lexington attorney Laurence Mann has been indicted on one burglary and three larceny charges so far, said William Cooper, Morke's attorney.

Morke could eventually face as many as 100 burglary-related charges, Cooper said.

No trial date has been set.

Morke is being held at the Rockbridge Regional Jail on the burglary charges as well as alleged violations of his Wisconsin parole.

Sheriff's deputies and divers, assisted by Morke, recovered some $300,000 worth of stolen jewelry and silver from the Maury River and a wooded area in late February, deputies have said.

Morke has requested a psychological evaluation, the results of which have not yet been released, Cooper said.

by CNB