The scene is familiar to millions of television viewers - Pat Sajak calling names and cracking jokes by a spinning wheel.
But yesterday, Sajak, who has hosted Wheel of Fortune for a quarter of a century, found himself not in a Hollywood studio but a county government building in Glen Burnie. And his assistant was not the beaming Vanna White, but someone a bit more businesslike: Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman.
Sajak, who has a home in Severna Park, and the sheriff taped an episode of Anne Arundel County's Most Wanted, which airs on local public access cable. While Sajak read names and descriptions of people wanted on open warrants, the sheriff spun the "Wheel of Felons."
"When we announce your name on our show, it's usually good news," Sajak said. "But when we say your name here, this isn't really good news."
The sheriff, who met Sajak at a parade, is known for pursuing criminals with a certain flair. On Valentine's Day, he tricked suspects into staying home by telling them to await a delivery from "Flowers by Ron." Last year, he lured suspects with promises of phony tax refunds.
The 61-year-old game show host and the sheriff kept up the banter throughout the half-hour program, which was filmed in a small studio under a county-run parking lot.
Inspecting the wheel as the program opened, Sajak said, "I don't mean to interrupt, because you're wearing a uniform and you look like you could run me in, but it looks like we could have the beginning of a lawsuit here."
Sajak laughingly promised not to sue over trademark infringement and added that the wheel, which was divided by the names of police forces that make arrests in the county, "looks a little better than ours."
As the straight-faced sheriff ticked off the names of the suspects, Sajak called out, "I'd like to buy a vowel" and "Tell them what they've won, Ron."
Reading a description of one man, Sajak said, "Timothy and I have something in common. He, too, has a tattoo on his back, both arms and his abdomen."
Lowering his voice, he added, "I have a picture of Vanna on my abdomen. It was years ago. I was single. I got drunk."
Sajak - who does not, in fact, have any tattoos - divides his time between California and Severna Park with his wife, Lesly, and their two children. The Sajaks are major donors to Anne Arundel Medical Center, and a building there is named in their honor.
