Waupun Man Appears On Police Chase, Drug Charges
6/26/14 – The Waupun man involved in a vehicle and foot chase with Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputies and police officers last Friday has been formally charged. Bond was set at $10-thousand dollars cash when David Skattum made his initial court appearance Wednesday. The incident started with a tip about an intoxicated driver heading to Sheboygan to buy cocaine. It ended after the 41-year-old allegedly sparked a high speed chase, drove into Fond du Lac and then fled on foot into a tree line. The Fond du Lac K-9 unit tracked him down. He was taken into custody after being treated by paramedics. During the three mile vehicle chase Skattum reportedly reached speeds in excess of 100-miles-per-hour. He’s facing charges of cocaine and narcotics possession, fleeing and resisting, and sixth offense OWI. A preliminary hearing is scheduled next Thursday.
Explorer Post Volunteer Facing Felony Charge
6/26/14 – One of the volunteers in a leadership position with a local law enforcement program for area youth is accused of sending lewd photographs to an underage subordinate. Seth J. Lane is charged in Dodge County Court with a felony county of Exposing a Child to Harmful Materials. The 19-year-old was a sergeant with the Dodge County Law Enforcement Explorer Post, an internship-type program through the sheriffs department that introduces young adults to police work, giving them a better understanding of law enforcement as a possible career. Lane allegedly sent a lewd photo of himself in March to the 16-year-old’s cell phone using Snap Chat, an application that automatically deletes the picture seconds after it is viewed. No evidence was ever retrieved from their mobile devices. The victim says she had always been uncomfortable around Lane and would run to her vehicle immediately after Explorer Post meetings. Lane contends their exchange of text messages was mutual. The charges carries a maximum three-and-a-half year prison sentence, if he is convicted. Lane has an Initial Appearance scheduled next month.
Beaver Dam Man Enters Plea In Theft From Acquaintance
6/26/14 – A Beaver Dam man who robbed a man outside a gas station entered a “no contest” plea Wednesday in Dodge County court. Nathan Crisafulli was originally charged with Robbery with the Use of Force but pled yesterday to felony Theft of Movable Property. The 30-year-old was arrested in November following the incident with an acquaintance. Crisafulli approached the victim as the victim walked out of the bathroom of a Beaver Dam gas station counting his money. He pushed the victim into a car and accused him of stealing a gun. The victim’s story was filled with inconsistencies and investigators believe he was under the influence of drugs. Prosecutors nonetheless say Crisafulli stole $180 and a cell phone with force. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered a Crisafulli will be in court next in September.
One Month In Jail Iron Ridge Man’s Election Incident
6/26/14 – An Iron Ridge man who caused a disturbance at the polls during last year’s spring election entered a plea agreement with Dodge County prosecutors Wednesday. George Lee had a felony count dropped after pleading to misdemeanor counts of Resisting Arrest, Bail Jumping and Disorderly Conduct related to the March incident and two unrelated incidents that winter. Prosecutors says the 51-year-old was harassing poll workers and was verbally abusive, waiving his finger and pounding his fists on the table. One of the poll workers urged him to remain calm because she has a heart condition. Lee was apparently upset that the Election Inspector insisted that he provide his name and address but he refused because he said she knew who he was. When he was told by police he was going to jail, he became combative and began kicking the arresting officer and Police Chief Charles Young and also attempting to bite them. Lee was sentenced to a month in jail with release privileges for mental health treatment.
Oakfield Man Enters Plea To Drunk Driving Injury
6/26/14 – An Oakfield man entered a “no contest” plea Wednesday in connection with a drunk driving injury accident. 52-year-old Bryan K. Novak pled to reduced charges of Operating While Intoxicated, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Obstruction and Disorderly Conduct. The two-vehicle wreck occurred last June just after midnight on Highway 49 in the Town of Leroy. A 20-year-old Lomira woman was transported to St. Agnes Hospital. Novak had a blood alcohol level over three-times the legal limit for driving at point-two-six-seven (.267). He was sentenced yesterday to 180 days in jail with work release privileges, two years’ probation. Novak also lost his license for nine months followed by a year of blowing into a tube to start his car.
Milwaukee Woman Sentenced For Prison Smuggling
6/26/14 – A Milwaukee woman has been sentenced to six months in jail for delivering marijuana to an inmate at Waupun Correctional Institution. 54-year-old Grace Pink pled “guilty” to Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver as a repeat offender. An additional charge of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate was dismissed but read into the record. Authorities say Pink and Anita Faye Shelton were visiting an inmate last December when a corrections officer noticed Shelton spit something into a juice bottle. The bottle was confiscated and officers found five balloons with seven grams of marijuana inside. An additional three grams of pot was found in two balloons in Pink’s jean pocket. The 58-year-old Shelton is charged with one count of Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver and one count of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate. She faces up to seven years in prison and is due back in court in August.
Janesville Man Charged In Prison Tobacco Drop
6/26/14 – A Janesville man is accused of trying to smuggle contraband to an inmate at the Wisconsin State Prison Farm in Waupun. Peter H. Smith is charged with a felony count of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate. The 58-year-old reportedly threw a black bag stuffed with ten tins of chewing tobacco along the roadside of Highway 49 last April. Smith allegedly dropped the chewing tobacco off for his son that was in the John Burke Center. When questioned by the police officer Smith reportedly admitted to the crime saying (quote) “I screwed up.” He is scheduled to make his initial appearance at the beginning of next month. If convicted, Smith could spend up to three-and-a-half years in prison.
May Jobless Numbers Down
6/26/14 – Jobless filings in the region last month are lower than both the previous month and the previous year. Dodge County’s unemployment rate last month was 5.8-percent, four-tenths lower than April and a full percent below last year’s rate. Columbia County dropped a half-percentage point to 5.8-percent. Fond du Lac County is down a full percentage point to 5.2-percent. Jefferson County was at 5.7-percent last month, four-tenths below the April rate and 1.1-percent below last year’s numbers. Washington County was at 5.1-percent last month, one-tenth lower than April and eight-tenths lower than May of last year. Dane County has the lowest unemployment in the state at 3.8-percent. Menominee County has the highest at 15.1-percent and was one of two Wisconsin counties with double-digit jobless figures. Last months jobless numbers decreased in all but three of Wisconsin’s 72 counties compared to April. Dane, Milwaukee and Ozaukee had no change. The state’s seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was at 5.7-percent last month compared to a 6.8-percent in May 2013.
State Beaches Among the Worst For E-Coli
6/26/14 – A national environmental group says Wisconsin has the eighth-worst beaches among 30 states which border either oceans or the Great Lakes. The Natural Resources Defense Council issued a report today, which rated state beaches according to the bacteria levels from water samples taken a year ago. The report said 14-percent of Wisconsin’s water samples failed to meet E-P-A standards for safe beach swimming waters. Nationally, ten-percent of 35-hundred beach samples exceeded new and more stringent E-P-A limits for E-coli bacteria. The new maximum is 190 E-coli colony-forming units per 100-milliliters in a single sample. The old max was 235 units. Great Lakes beaches have higher E-coli levels than their ocean counterparts, mainly because the Great Lakes are much smaller — and they don’t have the water circulation levels that oceans have.
Natural Resources Board Sets Wolf Quota
6/26/14 – A statewide wolf-hunting quota of 156 animals was approved Wednesday by the state Natural Resources Board at a meeting in Milwaukee. That’s down from last year’s quota of 251, as wildlife experts seek to continue a gradual reduction in the state’s overall wolf population. Wisconsin had up to 834 wolves in the spring of last year. Last fall’s hunt, plus an extremely cold winter, reduced the top estimate to 689 wolves this spring. That’s still almost twice as much as state’s original management goal of 350 animals. D-N-R experts say they want to reduce the total gradually, so they can study the impact of hunting on wolf populations. The approved quota includes 65 wolves allocated to Chippewa Indians as part of their treaty rights. They normally don’t hunt those animals, however, saying wolves are sacred to their tribes. As a result, only 91 wolves are expected to be available to hunters when the third annual wolf season begins in mid-October.
