IL Man in Custody Following High Speed Chase
An Illinois man was arrested yesterday following a traffic pursuit that began in Dodge County and reached speeds in excess of 120-miles per hour. Authorities say a Dodge County deputy attempted to pull over a silver Mercedes driven by 37-year-old Johnny Ward but the man fled and the deputy was unable to keep up. A short time later a deputy in Washington County found Ward driving on Highway 41 doing 121-miles per hour. Ward eventually crashed the car by the Slinger Shell station. He faces charges in Dodge County for Operating after Revocation, Fleeing from law enforcement, and Speeding.
Edwards Trial Delayed Again
The trial of a 76-year-old man accused of killing two teenage lovers in Jefferson County 30 years ago has been delayed for a third time. A judge agreed yesterday to move Edward Edwards’ double-homicide trial from June 14th to September 27th. Defense lawyer Jeff De La Rosa said he had commitments that would interfere with the original trial date. But District Attorney Susan Happ says the real reason for the delay is Edwards’ recent confession that he committed two similar killings in Akron Ohio in 1977. Happ says she’ll need time to see how the Ohio case would affect hers. De La Rosa was not sure how it would affect his defense. Edwards is accused of killing Tim Hack and Kelly Drew, both 19, as they left a wedding reception in Sullivan in 1980. He was arrested last summer after D-N-A evidence linked him to the slayings.
Burglary Suspects Expected in Court Today
Three of four men suspected of a series of daytime burglaries in Dodge County and the Waupun area could make initial court appearances in Fond du Lac County Court today. Authorities took three teens from Sun Prairie and a 22-year-old Beaver Dam man into custody at gunpoint at a home on Bittersweet Lane Wednesday afternoon. Waupun Police and Dodge County Sheriff’s investigators have been working together on the burglaries. (KFIZ)
Possible Challenger for Petri?
Democrats will have a challenger for 6th District Congressman Tom Petri this fall. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate says he’s been approached by someone who is interested in running against the federal lawmaker from Fond du Lac. Tate believes they can challenge and win the seat. Petri has been in Congress since April of 1979 when he won a special election. According to the State’s Government Accountability Board there are no registered candidates for the seat yet. (KFIZ)
FFRF Protest National Day of Prayer
About 50 people rallied outside the State Capitol on the National Day of Prayer, to call for an end to the government’s involvement in it. Co-president of Madison’s Freedom from Religion Foundation Dan Barker said the whole thing should be called off after Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled the day unconstitutional. The crowd applauded when the foundation’s Scott Colson read parts of the judge’s ruling. Crabb delayed the enforcement of her ruling until all appeals are exhausted. So both the federal and state governments went ahead and proclaimed yesterday’s prayer day as usual – and so did numerous mayors around the country. Governor Jim Doyle said he was maintaining the status quo by declaring the prayer day, just like he’s done every year since taking office in 2003. The Freedom from Religion Foundation is the same group that threatened legal action against Dodge County if they continued to have a prayer at the beginning of their board meetings last year.
T/CALAMUS KATIE M MARQUARDT 7/12/79 REPD HER HUSBAND
JACKSON/HY 151 BRADLEY B MARQUARDT 11/5/81 IS INTOXICATED AND
DRIVING. LENGTHY 10-80. C5 DEPLOYED BY BDPD
537 AND 540. BRADLEY TAKEN 10-95 FOR OWI 6TH.
REFUSED PBT AND FIELDS. P&P ALSO PLACED A
HOLD. BRADLEY CHARGED WITH OWI 6TH, FLEEING,
CRIMINAL OAR AND PO HOLD. JOHNNIES TOWED THE
VEHICLE.
The wife of an intoxicated man involved a long traffic pursuit was the person who alerted authorities to him driving. Officials say 28-year-old Bradley Marquardt was involved in a lengthy chase with authorities that ended around 11:30 when Beaver Dam police deployed stop spikes near Jackson Road and Highway 151. Marquardt was arrested on his 6th owi and faces charges of fleeing and criminal operating after revocation.