Record lottery winner arrested on DUI, weapons charges
West Virginian carrying $117,000 in cash at time of latest incident
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Posted: 11:32 PM EST (0432 GMT)
CHARLESTON, West Virginia (AP) -- A man who won a record $315 million in the Powerball lottery was taken to jail on charges of drunken driving and carrying a pistol, authorities said.
Jack Whittaker, 57, was arrested Tuesday night after his Hummer struck a concrete median on the West Virginia Turnpike near Beckley.
Senior Trooper M.J. Pinardo reported that he smelled alcohol, but Whittaker refused sobriety tests and was "extremely belligerent." Troopers also said they found a small pistol in Whittaker's boot and he was carrying $117,000 in cash.
Whittaker, who was alone, complained of back pain. He was treated at a hospital, and then jailed early Wednesday.
Whittaker was released after he was arraigned and posted $1,700 bail. Besides the DUI and weapons charge, he was charged with failure to maintain control of his vehicle and failure to submit to a breath test.
It was the latest in a series of incidents involving Whittaker since he took home, in 2002, the largest single jackpot ever.
Whittaker's vehicle, business and home have allegedly been broken into multiple times.
The body of 18-year-old Jesse Joe Tribble was found at Whittaker's home in September. Tribble's death was not a crime and Whittaker was out of town at the time.
Whittaker also faces charges of assaulting and threatening a manager at a bar in January.
--PunkDavid
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 4:52 pm Posts: 10620 Location: Chicago, IL Gender: Male
I love how this actually makes the "news" sections of cnn.com. Wow, my life has certainly changed upon hearing this "news." (not criticizing you for posting it; just criticizing those that reported it as "news").
Saturday, November 26, 2005; Posted: 5:17 p.m. EST (22:17 GMT)
NEWPORT, Kentucky (AP) -- A woman who won a $65.4 million Powerball jackpot with her husband five years ago was found dead at her home overlooking the Ohio River, where she had apparently been for days before anyone found her, police said.
Virginia Metcalf Merida's son discovered her body Wednesday. Police were awaiting autopsy and toxicology results before announcing a cause of death.
When the woman and her husband, Mack Wayne Metcalf, won the jackpot, they told lottery officials they were going their separate ways to fulfill their dreams. Merida planned to quit her job making corrugated boxes and buy a home. Metcalf, a forklift operator, wanted to start fresh in Australia. He never did.
Metcalf died in 2003 at age 45 while living in a replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate built in Corbin, Kentucky. His death followed multiple run-ins with the law, including a child-support dispute from a previous marriage and a drunken-driving charge filed before he hit the jackpot.
Neighbors said Merida stayed out of public view until last December when a body was found in her 5,000-square-foot, custom-built geodesic dome house. Campbell County Deputy Coroner Al Garnick confirmed that the man died of a drug overdose. Official records of the case were unavailable because of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Merida used part of her winnings to buy a second home, but when she tried to evict the resident, the renter sued. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
Carol Terrell Lawson, who is still renting the home, said that she never met Merida in person and only learned of the death after reporters began calling her.
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
He should have tried to do some good w/ that money.
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 3:02 pm Posts: 10690 Location: Lost in Twilight's Blue
jacktor wrote:
ledbetter10 wrote:
what is it with that state...scary people
i think i came out alright
But wasn't this guy rich, before the win? Maybe its not the money, he was just crazy
Yes, Whittaker was rich before the win and there's no question he was already crazy to begin with. There have been more exploits of his that luckily weren't picked up by the national media as much. His granddaughter was found dead on his property from an overdose, etc. He's a moron and just one more person making the state look terrible.
_________________ Scared to say what is your passion, So slag it all, Bitter's in fashion, Fear of failure's all you've started, The jury is in, verdict: Retarded
But wasn't this guy rich, before the win? Maybe its not the money, he was just crazy
Yes, Whittaker was rich before the win and there's no question he was already crazy to begin with. There have been more exploits of his that luckily weren't picked up by the national media as much. His granddaughter was found dead on his property from an overdose, etc. He's a moron and just one more person making the state look terrible.
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