Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200023
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Marcus S. Wilhelm was convicted of breaking into a downtown Roanoke business, where police found him stretched out on a table and snoring the night of March 9.
Officer C.O. Atkins of the Roanoke Police Department testified that when he responded to a burglary report at Sam's on the Market, an army surplus store, he figured the suspect was long gone.
The glass had been broken out of the business's front door, and all was quiet.
But after walking inside, Atkins said, "I looked down on a table and saw what appeared to be a mannequin.
"It was dressed in brand new boots, coveralls and a Roanoke Police jacket. I walked closer to it, and it appeared the object was snoring."
After being roused, Wilhelm was unable to explain his attire, which had been taken from the store's racks and still had price tags attached. He could not account for other merchandise that had been placed in a nearby shopping cart, either.
"He mumbled a few words, but nothing really understandable," Atkins testified.
At a hearing Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court, Wilhelm, 20, had an explanation.
He said the last thing he remembers about the night of March 9 was drinking many beers at a nearby bar. "I was drunk," he testified.
The next thing he knew, Wilhelm said, he woke up in Sam's with no idea how he got there, or how he got his new clothes.
"All I remember is two police officers coming in there ... and taking me downtown," Wilhelm said.
The story did not impress Judge Roy Willett, who convicted Wilhelm and is scheduled to sentence him in August.
by CNB