Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Pike said an autopsy showed that the first shot to strike Dicker, apparently from a .22-caliber rifle the boy had been using earlier to shoot squirrels, might not have killed the deputy, even though it struck him in the head.
The second shot, from Dicker's own 9 mm pistol, hit him behind the ear and was fatal, Pike said.
Pike said Christopher Shawn Wheeler told authorities that he fired the second shot because Dicker was trying to get up.
``He's not denying what happened,'' Pike said.
Dicker had gone to the house where Wheeler lived with his grandmother to serve detention papers charging the boy with auto theft and petty larceny. According to his statement, Wheeler asked Dicker if he could change out of his hunting clothes before going with him.
Dicker agreed, and it proved fatal, Pike said.
Pike said his department had served a dozen previous papers on Wheeler for various offenses. ``That's not counting all the times that we removed him from, like, football games where he was creating problems,'' the sheriff said. ``In some of these cases, his own relatives had filed charges against him.''
Wheeler was enrolled in the county schools' program held away from the regular school campus for those who cause disturbances in classroom settings.
Wheeler was arraigned behind closed doors Wednesday in Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Judge William Thomas moved the hearing from the public courtroom to a smaller room across the hall.
Thomas appointed the Pulaski-based public defender's office to represent Wheeler. No further court proceedings were immediately scheduled.
Victoria Robison, representing the public defender's office Wednesday, held papers and a briefcase in front of Wheeler's face as officers took him to and from the Wythe County Courthouse. ``Just doing my job,'' she repeated as she ran the gantlet of photographers and television cameras with him.
Some of Wheeler's relatives had gathered in a small area of the hallway outside the courtroom. ``I love you, Shawn,'' one called out as Wheeler was escorted downstairs following his arraignment.
Later, Wheeler's aunt, who had given him the .22 rifle, and his grandmother started out the front of the courthouse when they spotted a television cameraman. They darted back inside and huddled by a closed office door, sobbing, with their backs to the hallway, until Robison returned and tried to calm them.
They told Robison they just wanted to get away without encountering the media. Robison used a white scarf to cover their heads as she led them upstairs to wait out the cameras.
Pike said his office had been getting calls of sympathy since Dicker's death, including calls from Gov. George Allen and Secretary of Public Safety Jerry Kilgore.
It was doubly painful for Pike, who learned that another friend of his in law enforcement, Essex County Sheriff Damon E. Davis, died of an apparent heart attack while jogging.
Among those who visited the Sheriff's Office on Wednesday was Christiansburg Police Chief Ron Lemons, whose department experienced a similar loss Sept. 18 when 17-year police veteran Terry Griffith was killed with his own weapon by a West Virginia man accused of shoplifting. Griffith's assailant was killed by other officers.
Commonwealth's Attorney Tommy Baird and Circuit Clerk Hayden Horney researched state law Wednesday to see whether Wheeler could be tried as an adult. It appears that he can, Horney said, but a circuit judge would have to adjudicate him as an adult after a hearing.
``Something has got to take place in society. Not only do we have to face what the juveniles are doing today, but what are we going to do when they're 25 years old?'' Pike said. ``They are slapped on the wrist and put back in the same environment.''
Dicker's funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday. The Bower Funeral Home in Pulaski is handling arrangements.
by CNB