(Juneau) An inmate who did not return to the Dodge County Jail from a preapproved appointment has been arrested. Read the full press release from the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office:
Jennifer Petersen has been arrested and is now in custody as a result of the follow up investigation conducted by sheriff’s office deputies in collaboration with the Milwaukee Police Department.
As questions have been posed to the sheriff regarding this Huber walk-away, also known as an escape in the eyes of the law, we felt it important to share more details regarding what occurred in this case.
Jennifer Petersen was convicted and sentenced to prison in the fall of 2022 for the offense of possession of a firearm by a felon. Because of her criminal history, this charge was enhanced as a repeat offender. A separate charge of theft, also enhanced as repeat offender, was read in and dismissed by the court as records indicated on Wisconsin’s Circuit Court Access website. She was sentenced to prison for 18 months and then given 18 months of extended supervision after the initial 18 months of confinement.
During her time in prison, she participated in a DOC earned release program. Jennifer Petersen subsequently petitioned the court, and her request was granted, to have her in custody sentence reduced and to serve her remaining time on extended supervision. This means she was released under supervision to the department of corrections (DOC), division of community corrections (probation/parole). Without completing that earned release program, she would have remained in custody through April of 2024.
After her release, Jennifer Petersen was again arrested and placed into custody on a sanction hold by the DOC and turned over to the Dodge County Jail for that custody. The DOC placed her on sanctions and gave her the Huber privilege. As a result, the sheriff must honor that Huber privilege, and she was temporarily released for the medical appointment she had arranged.
Sheriff Dale Schmidt is releasing this additional information to answer the many questions that were raised by the public over the last few days. The sheriff’s office takes these matters very seriously and when incidents like this occur, we do not just sit back and wait for these individuals to be arrested by chance or turn themselves in, we take action to investigate and hold them accountable for their actions.
Huber work release is a privilege! We will enforce and do whatever we can to arrest people who violate this privilege quickly in Dodge County. As a result, they typically will face new charges of escape, a felony. We thank the public for the assistance we did receive in this case as we work toward the safety of our community and the accountability of those who violate our laws.
