6/11/11 – A Beaver Dam man has been ordered to pay restitution for his role in stealing a bronze eagle from the Veterans Memorial in the Randolph Community Cemetery. Robert Hansen pleaded “no contest” in Columbia County court to a felony charge of Theft as a Party to a Crime. The 20-year-old was placed on probation for three years and ordered to split $4580 in restitution with his accomplice. 21-year-old Stephen Peterson of Beaver Dam was previously sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to pay his share of the restitution. Peterson will begin serving that sentence after he serves a Dodge County prison sentence for a series of pipe bomb incidents. The eagle, valued at $3,000, was first reported missing in May of 2009 but was returned before Memorial Day Ceremonies were held. Peterson told authorities he took the eagle that April; it was later found at Edgewater Park in Beaver Dam.
