Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506090101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Ward Wilkerson Jr., a librarian for the Department of Correctional Education, was arrested after a routine search in the lobby of the Coffeewood Correctional Center.
Corrections Director Ron Angelone said that as Wilkerson approached the checkpoint carrying a stack of newspapers, corrections officers noticed him acting ``in a suspicious manner.''
An unloaded .38-caliber gun was found in a box beneath the newspapers.
Allen administration officials declined to comment on whether the episode gives credence to the theory that a gun found last month in a typewriter used by death row inmate Willie Lloyd Turner could have been smuggled into Greensville Correctional Center by a guard.
``It's not proper for us to go down that road yet,'' Public Safety Secretary Jerry W. Kilgore said.
The ``gun in the typewriter'' scandal erupted a few hours after the May 25 execution of Turner at Greensville. His lawyer removed Turner's possessions from the prison and later discovered a loaded revolver and 12 extra bullets hidden in the convicted killer's electric typewriter.
The initial reaction of Angelone and Gov. George Allen was that the gun could have been planted by Turner's attorney as part of an ``elaborate hoax.''
After a 36-hour investigation, Angelone exonerated his department. Allen reopened the matter last week - calling in the state police - when it became apparent that the brief internal probe had left too many questions.
On Thursday, members of two General Assembly Public Safety subcommittees came looking for answers during a routine budget work session.
Kilgore had little to tell them, explaining that he wanted to wait for the state police to complete their work.
Kilgore also would not say whether the Allen administration still suspects involvement by Walter Walvick, a lawyer from Washington who represented Turner.
``We haven't ruled out any possibility at this point," Kilgore said.
Walvick, who has expressed outrage that the administration would suggest he planted the gun, declined comment.
Allen administration officials were quick to reject any ties between the latest prison gun incident and the Turner case.
Angelone tried to put the best face on the latest incident.
``The fact that the weapon was found at the initial checkpoint in the lobby points to the professionalism of our corrections officers,'' he said.
Wilkerson has been charged with attempting to enter a prison with a firearm and has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal charge.
In a telephone interview, Wilkerson said the whole thing was a misunderstanding.
``It's just a monumental screw-up that I hope will be cleared up in the courts,'' he said.
by CNB