"Editor's Note: Since the time of the story below, a Charlottesville jury awarded Jesse Sheckler $10 million in compensation in a defamation suit against WVIR.

The article below was originally posted on this website on May 31, 2003. For more, see Index for Defamation Suit Against WVIR as Covered on Loper Website.

"A federal jury in Charlottesville found a Stanardsville man not guilty Thursday of conspiracy to distribute narcotics after hearing two days of testimony from a convicted drug felon, the defendant and the defendant's friends.

The jury deliberated for about four hours before finding Jesse R. Sheckler, 50, of Pea Ridge Road, not guilty of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

Sheckler's family and friends cheered and cried as the verdict was read.

Sheckler, who operates an automotive garage behind his home, was indicted in March. He declined to comment after the verdict.

The conspiracy charge stemmed from a loan of between $37,000 and $47,000 in cash that Sheckler gave to convicted drug felon Samuel E. Rose. Sheckler testified that Rose told him he needed the loan to build a house for his mother and would pay 10 percent interest.

Rose testified that Sheckler lent him the money to invest in Rose's cocaine and marijuana business for a large profit. Rose testified that he eventually took $37,000 from Sheckler, vowing to return $80,000.

Rose had agreed to testify in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence for his drug conviction.

Jack C. Frels, assistant U.S. attorney, presented evidence that included Rose's testimony and tape recordings made by Rose of conversations with Sheckler about the money Rose had not yet paid back.

Frels asked the jury to find Sheckler guilty as a financier. He argued in closing that the indictment stated that Sheckler could be a "member of a conspiracy without all the details of the entire scheme."

Denise Y. Lunsford, Sheckler's attorney, said in her closing argument that Rose was a "slick salesman" and had convincingly misled Sheckler (about the use of the money.)

She also said Rose's testimony for a lighter sentence was "the pitch of his lifetime … to get him back on the street in less than 10 years."

About 40 of Sheckler's friends filled the courtroom. After the trial, his wife, Becky, and two daughters left at his side." (Keri Schwab, The Daily Progress, November 2, 2001)