(Juneau) A Portage man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole yesterday in the death of a Beaver Dam man. Nigel Schultz pled no contest in August to homicide charges in the death of Bradlee Gerke. A property owner near Ashippun called authorities in October 2018 reporting that there could be a body at his farm. Schultz admitted shooting Gerke in the head. At sentencing, D-A Kurt Klomberg said that Schultz viewed the killing as his most significant accomplishment and bragged about it as if it was a badge of honor. Judge Martin De Vries called the crime a twisted and deprived act. Schultz said he was sorry and understands that he needs to face the consequences of his actions.
(Beaver Dam) Yesterday was the deadline to run for local office. There are contested races for mayor in Beaver Dam and Waupun. That includes a February primary for the three-way race for Beaver Dam mayor between Alan Winter, Jeff Kohman and incumbent Becky Glewen. A primary will also be needed for two aldermanic districts representing the Watertown common council. Aldermanic races will be on the April ballot in Watertown along with Beaver Dam, Horicon and Columbus. There are two contested races on the 33-member Dodge County Board for seats representing portions of Beaver Dam and Waupun. Voters will also decide school board races in Columbus, Waupun and Juneau. Several communities had a hard time finding anyone to run, including Mayville and Juneau where there will be two blank ballots. An incumbent in Columbus failed to return any paperwork and the deadline for that District Three seat has been extended to close of business Friday.
(Fond du Lac) It looks like there will be two races for the Fond du Lac County Board in April. In District 5 Gary Miller will challenge incumbent Sarah Everson and in District 9 incumbent Joseph Koch is being challenged by former County Board Supervisor Tom Dornbrook. Only one incumbent filed non-candidacy papers. Judy Goldsmith represented the 25th District and served on the board for 16 years. Monica Walk, who currently serves on the Fond du Lac School Board, is running for that seat. Marty Farrell who is chairperson of the board and represents District 1 is seeking another term. He has served on the board the longest of any current members going on 24 years.
(Waupun) The state’s Department of Corrections continues to investigate an attack on a corrections officer at Waupun Correctional Institution on Christmas Eve. The inmate, 25-year-old Greg Phillips, allegedly stabbed the officer in the face, neck and abdomen with a piece of metal. The officer was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to the UW-Madison Hospital. He has since been released. Meanwhile Phillips was transferred to Green Bay Correctional where he is serving a life sentence for a double-homicide that occurred in Oak Creek in 2004.
(Rosendale) Misdemeanor charges have been brought against a 19-year-old Beloit man who was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for speeding in the village of Rosendale last Friday night. According to the criminal complaint police found a .38 caliber handgun and a plastic bag during the stop that Darrius Brown allegedly admitted were his. The gun had been stolen out of Chicago and he could be seen on patrol car camera footage chewing on something. Brown later admitted there had been marijuana in the bag. Cash bond was set at $250 during his initial hearing in Fond du Lac County court Monday.
