Officer Raymond Leroy Wheeler

Raymond Leroy Wheeler

Officer Raymond Wheeler was shot and killed while he and his partner searched three juvenile suspects in parking lot of the juvenile detention center. During the search one of the juveniles produced a .22 caliber handgun and opened fire. Officer Wheeler jumped in front of his partner and was struck in the head.

The suspect attempted to flee but was captured. Officer Wheeler was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wound early the next morning. The 17 year-old suspect and his 17-year-old accomplice were convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison November 29, 1974. The accomplice was paroled in 1984. On February 18, 1985, he robbed a man at gunpoint and then raped his wife. He was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 30 years. The rape victim refused to go to court because she did not want others to know who she was.

Officer Wheeler was a U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran. He had served with the agency for one year and was survived by his wife.