Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 30, 1995 TAG: 9508300053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Christopher Shawn Wheeler originally was charged with capital murder in the Dec. 6 death of Deputy Cliff Dicker.
If Wheeler is tried as an adult, the capital murder charge can be reinstated at the Circuit Court level. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Keith Blankenship said the prosecution intends to do just that.
It is less clear whether the charge could be elevated if Wheeler is tried as a juvenile. Both sides would present legal arguments if that happens.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge William Thomas set Oct. 31 to decide whether Wheeler will be tried as a juvenile or as an adult. Defense attorney Jonathan Venzie said the losing side is likely to appeal to Circuit Court.
Tuesday's hearing was a continuation of one started Aug. 1, after several postponements. At the earlier hearing, Thomas ruled that Wheeler's confession was inadmissible in his court after the defense argued that authorities made no effort to have a guardian present when the boy was questioned.
Again, the prosecution could seek to have the confession admitted at the Circuit Court level. ``The benefit is we can reopen some of these issues and argue them again,'' Blankenship said.
Both sides agreed Tuesday that the evidence heard Aug. 1, without the confession, was sufficient for a charge of second-degree murder as well as two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
``That's as far as the evidence got, and that's what we agreed to leave it at,'' Venzie said. But he said the prosecution made no agreement to leave it at that level as the case moves through the court system. A grand jury could indict Wheeler on a capital murder charge if its members think the evidence indicates that.
In his statement, Wheeler said he shot Dicker first with his .22-caliber rifle when Dicker came to his home to serve two warrants on the boy. Wheeler then used Dicker's own pistol to shoot him a second time.
Wheeler made his statement to two police investigators he knew. One of them, Wytheville police investigator Thomas Wade Whisman, testified Aug. 1 that he did not know the circumstances of the shooting when he was asked to question Wheeler.
He said Wheeler understood his rights and made his statement voluntarily. Wheeler's grandmother, with whom the boy was living, had been so upset by the incident that she was undergoing medical treatment, and authorities knew they could not have her present.
The grandmother, Kathleen Wheeler, testified Aug. 1 that her grandson told her he had shot someone. Deputy Sheriff Daniel Murphy said Wheeler also told him that he had shot Dicker.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB