THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100351
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 39 lines
A probation and parole officer in Dare County has been found guilty of exposing himself to two women at an Outer Banks swimming pool.
Jason Wheeler, 23, of Kitty Hawk, was granted a prayer for judgment by Judge Allen W. Harrell of Wilson on Tuesday. That essentially puts aside a ruling as long as the defendant has no further violations.
The judge ordered Wheeler to pay court costs and to commit no further ``crimes of moral turpitude.''
Assistant District Attorney Mike Johnson said Wednesday that Harrell was reluctant to convict Wheeler but that the judge said he believed the witnesses. Harrell was lenient, Johnson said, because Wheeler had no prior record, has a good reputation in the community and the offense was a ``minor misdemeanor.''
Wheeler was arrested May 10 after Carmen Ghee and Cindy Kingsbury, both of Kill Devil Hills, told police that Wheeler masturbated across from them at the pool at Colony IV motel in Kill Devil Hills.
Wheeler has been employed since Nov. 6, 1995, in Dare County as parole and probation officer. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Glenn Mills, the 1st Division chief for North Carolina Probation and Parole Services, said the state is reviewing the matter and will decide within days what impact the conviction will have on Wheeler's job. He has been working at a desk job at the Nags Head office since his arrest.
Mills said state officials consider each criminal accusation of a parole officer on a case-by-case basis, and he said they take into account job performance, personal conduct and the nature of the crime if a conviction results.
Johnson said character witnesses for Wheeler at Tuesday's trial in District Court included Nags Head Mayor Rene Cahoon, Wheeler's mother, his stepmother, his wife, and his father, county manager Terry Wheeler.
Attorney Keith Teague, who represented Wheeler, could not reached for comment at his Elizabeth City office Wednesday. by CNB