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

DATE: THURSDAY, September 7, 1995                   TAG: 9509070081
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: G.W. POINDEXTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: SPOTSYLVANIA                                LENGTH: Medium

TRAFFIC VIOLATOR STOMACHS JAIL TIME

A man convicted of a traffic offense languished for five days without food in a courthouse holding cell after a bailiff forgot about him over the long Labor Day weekend.

Allen Wilhelm, 25, was found Tuesday at the Spotsylvania County Courthouse after his father asked Sheriff T.C. Waddy about the young man's whereabouts.

``My stomach was growling and moving around and I was cold. I woke up and said, `Damn, I'm still here,''' Wilhelm said Wednesday. ``It was like an icebox in there.''

Wilhelm, who wore only jeans and a T-shirt in the cell, was examined at a hospital and found to have no serious health problems. The 8-by-12-foot cell in the new air-conditioned courthouse had running water and a toilet but no bedding. The sheriff said the temperature was about 70 degrees.

Last Thursday, Wilhelm had been ordered to spend two days in Rappahannock Regional Jail, about 10 miles from the courthouse, but he was never transferred. He had been convicted of driving with a suspended license.

Bailiff Steve Coleman was fired for leaving Wilhelm in the cell, the sheriff said. Waddy said Coleman was supposed to phone another deputy to pick up the prisoner but forgot to do so. Coleman couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Commonwealth's Attorney William F. Neely said he did not believe any law had been violated.

The clerk's office was open Friday, but court was not in session. The office was closed Monday for Labor Day. Courthouse workers said there is no way to hear someone in the cell from the clerk's office.