On December 6, 1994, Wythe County Deputy Clifford Dicker, 57, was serving juvenile petitions at a residence on South Church Street in Wytheville, Virginia, when he was shot and killed. Dicker had been assigned to less strenuous duties after a prior heart attack, including courtroom security and serving legal papers. He had gone to serve two petitions for petty larceny and auto theft to 15-year-old Christopher Shawn Wheeler, a task the Sheriff’s Office had completed many times before without incident.

According to reports, Wheeler fired once with a .22-caliber rifle, wounding Dicker, then used the deputy’s 9mm service weapon to fire a second, fatal shot to the head. A neighbor called for help and law enforcement found Dicker inside the house; Wheeler was taken into custody at the scene. The Virginia State Police handled the investigation at the request of local agencies.

Does anyone have memories of Deputy Dicker’s service in Wytheville or information about that day that could add context to the case?