THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080450
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
A 15-year-old boy accused of killing a deputy sheriff who was trying to arrest him appeared in court Wednesday, where a public defender was appointed to defend him.
Christopher Shawn Wheeler was charged in Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court with capital murder and firearms violations in the death of Wythe County Deputy Sheriff Cliff Dicker.
Dicker was wounded as he tried to serve two juvenile court petitions on Wheeler Monday, then shot execution-style.
Medical Examiner David Oxley said Dicker suffered a superficial gunshot wound of the forehead and died of a wound in the back of the head.
Dicker, 57, had been wounded with a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle and, as he lay wounded, was shot from behind with a 9mm firearm.
Wythe County Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas B. Baird said he wants to have Wheeler tried as an adult. That could expose him to the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted.
If he is convicted as a juvenile, Wheeler could not be held past his 21st birthday.
Wheeler's record includes juvenile petitions for 14 offenses, including the two petitions Dicker was attempting to serve on him Monday.
A state police special agent, Carroll Delp, said Wytheville police had accused Wheeler of auto theft and petty larceny. Dicker had detention orders - the equivalent of arrest warrants for juveniles - for Wheeler.
Authorities said they were unsure what offenses the previous petitions alleged because juvenile records are not public. Wheeler was held without bond at a juvenile detention center in Christiansburg.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING POLICE JUVENILE by CNB