Ex-San Diego Officer Wounded; He Had Testified in Penn Case

A former San Diego police lieutenant who testified against a fellow officer in the controversial Sagon Penn police-shooting case was shot and wounded Tuesday in his home here, authorities said.

San Diego television station KFMB reported that a note left with Doyle F. Wheeler said, “This is a pay-back.”

Wheeler, 36, shot in the head or neck area, was conscious and talking to officers at a Spokane-area hospital, said San Diego Police Sgt. Dave Kelly, who spoke to authorities in Stevens County.

Wheeler had a police badge on his chest when he was taken by stretcher to a medical helicopter, said Ross Kelley, who lives next door. Deputies removed the badge, which had apparently been pinned on Wheeler during the assault, Kelley said.

Stevens County Sheriff Dick Andres said authorities were looking for three men who sped away from Wheeler’s home in his small foreign car.

Wheeler’s hands apparently were bound during the attack at his home in the quiet retirement community of Suncrest, 20 miles northwest of Spokane, Andres said.

Wheeler, his wife and their two children moved to the region about 1 1/2 years ago, Kelley said, adding that Wheeler was on medical-related retirement and had been working as a salesman.

Wheeler testified at a trial of Penn, 26, a black man who alleged that he shot two officers after he was attacked because of his race. Penn was acquitted after two trials.