The Region - News from Sept. 16, 1986

A Covina man convicted of intentionally sinking his fishing boat to collect on a $350,000 insurance policy was sentenced to three years in prison. Charles Lewis Wheeler, 46, was convicted of one count of sinking his San Pedro-based boat on Aug. 13. A Los Angeles federal court jury announced it was deadlocked 11 to 1 for conviction on a second count of conspiracy to destroy the vessel, and the charge was dismissed later. Wheeler faced a possible life term in prison, but U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie followed the recommendation of a probation report that called for the lesser sentence. Wheeler will be eligible for parole after serving a third of the term. Rafeedie did not require Wheeler to pay restitution after it was disclosed during trial that the insurance company had not paid off on Wheeler’s claim.