Top Stories April 24th

UPDATE: Three Suspected Outhouse Bombers Apprehended

4/24/09 - All three suspected outhouse bombers have been apprehended. Federal, state and local authorities had been looking for the men responsible for blowing up a mailbox in Burnett and a port-a-potty at Lost Lake Park this week. Authorities say they used a pipe bomb and, in the case of the outhouse, also used liquefied gas. Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls says two of the suspects were taken into custody Wednesday and the third was apprehended in Dane County Thursday afternoon. There was a reward totaling $15,000 being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects, but there is no word yet on whether tips led to the arrests. Nehls did thank the public, though, for the phone calls, tips and leads that came in after surveillance footage of the suspects was released.

Sparacio Charged With Molestation

4/24/09 - A Fox Lake man is accused of molesting a preteen girl. Jonathan Sparacio is charged with one felony count of Child Enticement for a series of offenses that allegedly occurred in 2004. The mother of the victim legally recorded two conversations with Sparacio in which he admitted guilt but blamed the girl. The 62-year-old is being held in the Dodge County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond. Sparacio has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 21.

Allen Gets 7 Months

4/24/09 - A Beaver Dam man who forced himself on a young woman at her apartment last December was sentenced yesterday to seven months in jail. David A. Allen was charged with one felony count of Third Degree Sexual Assault but pleaded “no contest” to an amended charge of False Imprisonment. The 43-year-old forced himself on an adult woman in September after she rebuked his advances. Allen was also placed on probation for three years and had a three year prison sentence imposed and stayed.

Billings Waives Prelim

4/24/09 - One of the three suspects arrested in connection with the series business burglaries that occurred in the area late last year waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday. 24-year-old Kurtis W. Billings of Wisconsin Dells, is charged with a felony count of Burglary. Billings was arrested along with 21-year-old Tabatha E. Pellett and 28-year-old Trevor P. Waller last fall for allegedly trying to break into Kelm Painting and Beaver Plumbing. Authorities have indicated that the trio may also be connected to several other business burglaries that occurred last year in and around Dodge County. All three have court activity on the calendar next month.

Second-To-Last Watertown Cocaine Sentencing

4/24/09 - Another sentence was handed down yesterday in connection with a two-county cocaine ring. Federal Judge Barbara Crabb sentenced Juan Pineda-Pineda to 12 months in prison. The 31-year-old Mexican national was one of about a dozen people arrested last June for selling cocaine in the Watertown area. The Department of Justice conducted wiretaps between July of 2006 and last June, monitoring hundreds of calls detailing drug transactions in Dodge and Jefferson Counties. On June 19, authorities executed eleven search warrants and seized over $100,000 in cash, multiple kilograms of cocaine and several automobiles. Eleven people have already been sent to prison and one last defendant is scheduled to be sentenced next month. The Department of Justice says all the subjects will be deported after their sentences are completed.

Accused Snowmobile Club Embezzler Waives Prelim

4/24/09 - A Beaver Dam woman, accused of embezzling from the Fox Lake Snowmobile Club, has waived her right to a preliminary hearing. Jennifer Hoefs is charged with a felony count of Theft in a Business Setting for allegedly stealing nearly $13,000 over an 18-month period when she worked as treasurer for the organization. According to the criminal complaint, the 35-year-old wrote checks out to herself and cashed them to pay bills as she was going through a divorce. Hoefs faces up to 10 years in prison, if convicted. An arraignment hearing is set for next Wednesday.

Medication Take Back At CHS

4/24/09 - The Columbus Police Department, Community Hospital and High School have teamed up in an effort to get unused prescription drugs out of the hands of local youth. A Medication Take Back Program will be held at the high school this afternoon. The program is aimed at reducing the number of unused pharmaceuticals available for diversion, theft or accidental poisoning. Experts say prescription drugs should no longer be flushed down the drain because it pollutes the water supply. Organizers say the public should bring unused or expired medications to the high school main entrance between noon and 3pm. They ask that all personal identification be removed from the containers. A “drive-up and drop-off” option will also be available.

Cochlear Implant Requirement Advances

4/24/09 - Wisconsin senators voted Thursday to make health insurers cover cochlear implants for kids who have trouble hearing. The bill makes private insurance firms cover implants, hearing aids, and related treatments for children under 18. Supporters of the bill say many families with deaf children cannot afford cochlear implants, which can cost over 50-thousand dollars. Parents say it deprives their kids of an education, while school districts say it’s a drain on resources to provide a special education teacher as required under the No Child Left Behind. If it becomes law, Wisconsin would become the first state in the nation to require insurance for cochlear implants.

BDFD Transition: Koehn – Mannel on Community Comment

4/24/09 - We’ll sit down with the incoming and outgoing Beaver Dam fire chief’s on WBEV’s Community Comment this afternoon. Chief Randy Koehn will be retiring from his decades-long service to the city on May 1. Chief Alan Mannel says the information he has gotten from Koehn since he started at the beginning of the month has been invaluable. We’ll sit down with both men, and Mayor Tom Kennedy, beginning at 12:35pm today.