COCOA, Fla. – A Brevard County grand jury has indicted Matthew Inklebarger for first-degree premeditated murder in the August killing of former Cocoa City Councilman James “Jim” Wallen, News 6 partner Florida Today reports.
The grand jury also returned indictments charging Inklebarger, 42, of Palm Bay with armed burglary of a dwelling and petty theft.
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Wallen, 75, was found dead of multiple stab wounds in his Manor Drive garage — and his wedding band was missing.
Cocoa police said Inklebarger broke into and ransacked Wallen’s home during a random burglary.
The death was ruled a homicide by the Brevard County medical examiner, and Cocoa police linked Inklebarger to the killing via witnesses and forensic evidence, the State Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Inklebarger’s girlfriend, 44-year-old Cecilia Poteet of Cocoa, was later arrested after police said she pawned Wallen’s wedding ring for $175. She was charged with dealing in stolen property and false verification of ownership to a pawnbroker, and she remains jailed on $22,000 bond.
Wallen served on the Cocoa City Council from 1979-81 and 1983-86. He worked as a teacher for 37 years, teaching English at Kennedy Middle School and adult education at Brevard Community College.
The grand jury heard testimony from the Brevard County medical examiner, a Brevard County Sheriff’s Office crime scene investigator, and a Cocoa police detective before returning with the indictments.
Inklebarger remains in federal custody on a parole violation stemming from a 2014 bank robbery. He was convicted and sentenced to federal prison later that year, and he was released in June 2018.
The State Attorney’s Office will work with federal attorneys to secure custody, and Inklebarger will be held without bond at the Brevard County Jail Complex, the news release said. A trial date has not been scheduled.
Poteet has entered a not guilty plea, and a bond hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Moore Justice Center in Viera.