32 year old Willis Wharf man given suspended sentences for two-week crime spree

By Linda Cicoira

A 32-year-old Willis Wharf man was given suspended sentences Monday in Northampton Circuit Court for a two-week crime spree involving stealing property from the Nature Conservancy office in Brownsville and taking items from vehicles parked at the Cape Charles Harbor last summer.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly and I was in a rough spot,” the defendant, James Waylon Widgeon, of Willis Wharf Road, told Judge Leslie L. Lilley. “I was overusing medication and I was drinking …  I’ve got no excuse really …  I just lost my filter in my head. I was overusing my depression medicine.”

“What’s your outlook?” the judge asked.

“Looking good, so far,” Widgeon answered. “They have me on different stuff.”

“Get a job,” the judge advised. “Have a bright future in this community. Make your probation officer your best friend.”

      Widgeon could have been sentenced to a total of 68 years. He was given five years for grand larceny, five years each for two counts of grand larceny, and 12 months for each of the seven misdemeanors. With some terms running consecutively and others concurrently, the total came to 10 years and 12 months, with all but time served suspended. He has been held in the Eastern Shore Regional Jail since July 5.

     Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton said the incidents occurred in June and July and came to light after it was reported that a “suspicious person was going into vehicles in the parking lot” at the harbor. The defendant was stopped leaving the area in his truck, which the prosecutor said was “packed to the gills with items that were taken.” Those included a wetsuit, clothing, and binoculars. “Nearly all the property that was taken was recovered,” the Thornton added.

     Widgeon was banned from going back to the harbor or the Nature Conservancy or making contact with any of the victims. He also admitted to taking property from the forestry office in Tasley and was banned from there, although that is in Accomack County and he was convicted there on other counts. A charge of uttering a check was dropped for lack of evidence.