Posted on 03/05/2008 6:13:10 AM PST by Alex Murphy
GREELEY — Jurors will not hear that a Catholic priest told a police officer he knew it was wrong to jog naked at Frederick High School, a Weld County judge ruled Tuesday.
Representing The Rev. Robert Whipkey, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent exposure, attorney A. Lee Harrell argued that Whipkey believed he was in custody when he talked to Frederick Police Officer Donald Loveless.
“I know what I did was wrong” was the statement Harrell convinced County Judge Timothy Kerns to keep out of evidence when the case goes to trial.
Loveless spoke to Whipkey while off-duty Frederick Police Officer Zachariah Hahn and a Firestone police officer in a marked squad car were nearby, Loveless testified Tuesday.
“He ... admitted to me he’d gone jogging without wearing any clothing,” Loveless said. “He also stated after that that he knew what he’d done was wrong.”
Because three officers were present — even though the Firestone officer was across the street from Loveless and Whipkey — it was reasonable for Whipkey to believe he was in custody when he spoke to Loveless, Kerns ruled.
Both Loveless and Hahn testified that they had not advised Whipkey of his right not to speak to them.
Hahn, who was off duty and watering his garden immediately after his shift, testified he saw Whipkey walking nude on Fifth Street, from the area of Frederick High School, at about 4:30 a.m. June 22.
“When I initially saw him, he appeared to be naked. I was rather alarmed. You don’t see naked people walking down the street,” Hahn said Tuesday.
The officer shined his flashlight on Whipkey and confirmed that he was naked, Hahn said. He was first concerned that Whipkey might be mentally ill or injured, he said.
“I knew I needed to go and investigate why he was walking nude down the street,” Hahn said.
He followed Whipkey to his home but admitted in court that he lost sight of Whipkey as Whipkey entered his fenced yard.
A few minutes later, Whipkey, wearing white shorts, exited his house and crossed the street to confront Hahn.
“He came out of the house and told me my phone was very loud and disturbing him,” Hahn testified.
“I told him, ‘Sir, I just observed you walking down the street completely nude,’” Hahn said. “He said he was at Frederick High School, working out on the track.”
The priest, who was ordained in 1983, served parishes in Frederick, Mead and Erie until news of his June arrest became public in August. The Archdiocese of Denver then placed him on administrative leave.
Whipkey’s jury trial, originally planned for this month, was rescheduled to June 11 and 12. Another hearing is scheduled for April 18, but Whipkey’s presence is not required.
“He will be out of state, undergoing some treatment,” Harrell told the court.
Don't you mean the sweaty naked jogging priest]
- A motions hearing was scheduled for January 31st, took place March 4
- A pretrial conference is scheduled for March 7
- Another hearing is scheduled for April 18
- The Jury trial, originally scheduled to start this month, has been rescheduled to June 11-12, due to Whipkey being out-of-state undergoing some sort of treatment [mentioned in this article]
- The Weld County Judge is Michele Meyer
- The Prosecutor is Kent Leier
- The Defense lawyers are Matt Giacomini and Doug Tisdale
- The Denver Post coverage mentioned that, on the same day that Whipkey's "not guilty" plea was entered, a lawyer representing Whipkey (presumably one of the Tisdales) said the priest deeply regretted any discomfort and embarrassment that the situation had caused Catholics in the archdiocese, his family or anyone else.
- According to the CW2 coverage, Father Whipkey was slapped with a mandatory restraining order against the Frederick police officer who found him naked, and Whipkey was ordered to be fingerprinted.
- According to the earlier Times-Call coverage, the Archdiocese of Denver had yet to surrender Whipkey's personnel records to the Weld County Prosecutor at the time of the arraignment hearing.
Prior articles, in chronological order:
Naked truth: Priest jogs in birthday suit
Colo. priest charged for jogging naked
Priest faced prior nudity allegations
Jogging in (less than) brief
Jury will decide priest’s guilt [naked jogging priest case goes to trial]
Priest caught naked pleads not guilty to indecent exposure
Priest’s pre-trial hearing delayed [Father Bob Whipkey, the naked jogging priest]
Having his sweat glands removed?
Monasticism is not the way God intended men and women to live.
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