Top Stories, February 12th

Poynette Woman Charged in Bank Robbery

2/12/10 - A Poynette woman and a Memphis, Tennessee man have been charged in federal court with a Tuesday bank robbery in Madison. 33-year-old Jennifer DeBoef and 28-year-old Gregory Allen face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the felony charge. Witnesses say the robber had a handgun and stole money from two cash drawers. Authorities say the money stolen from the Anchor Bank contained dye-packs which exploded and tainted the money red. The FBI and Columbia County SWAT team joined local police in arresting the pair on Wednesday in Poynette. DeBoef and Allen made their initial court appearances in federal court in Madison yesterday and had arraignments hearings set for next Thursday.

Hustisford Teen Enters Into Plea On Arson Charges

2/12/10 - A Hustisford teen will spend 60 days in jail for burning down an abandoned house. Taylor Copple pleaded “no contest” to two misdemeanor charges of Criminal Damage To Property and Trespassing and was placed on deferred prosecution on a felony arson charge. If the 19-year-old stays out of trouble for the next two years he’ll avoid a felony record. According to the criminal complaint, Copple was with two friends when he used a cigarette lighter to ignite a couch in the vacant home last April. The three then went to the high school parking lot to watch the blaze. No one was injured. The home, which was owned by an investment group, was a total loss. The three were connected to the fire after one of them told their parents, who contacted authorities. Copple was also ordered to pay $2800 in restitution. Ryan Jarosinski has a plea hearing scheduled for next week on misdemeanor charges related to the fire.

Milwaukee Man Sentenced In Ashippun Burglary

2/12/10 - A Milwaukee-area man was sentenced Thursday to one year in prison and five years of extended supervision for burglarizing a Dodge County residence as part of a multi-county crime spree. 21-year-old Corey Shreeves and two others broke into a Town of Ashippun home last June. According to the criminal complaint, a witness saw three people taking items from a neighbor’s residence and putting those items into their vehicle. The man called 9-1-1 and provided a description of the suspects and the vehicle. Within 25-minutes, a Dodge County deputy confronted the burglars in the driveway of another residence in Washington County. That owner, an off-duty police officer, was awakened by the burglars kicking in his door and he was in the process of calling 9-1-1 himself. 30-year-old Danielle Zipter will be in Dodge County court for an arraignment hearing next week and she’ll be in Washington County court for sentencing next month. 25-year-old Sabrina Mauhar, the purported ringleader, was sentenced to two years in prison for the Ashippun burglary and that will run consecutive to a four year prison sentence handed down in the Washington County break-in. All three still face charges in Waukesha County.

Chase Results In Probation

2/12/10 - A Waupun man was placed on probation for running from authorities last June. Authorities say Curtis Lindeman swerved in front of an oncoming squad car and accelerated when the officer turned around. The 22-year-old stopped the vehicle a short time later and took off on foot. He was tazed and taken into custody without further incident Lindeman pleaded “no contest” to a felony charge of Fleeing and had a misdemeanor Resisting charge dismissed but read into the record.

BDPD January Crime Stats

2/12/10 - The Beaver Dam Police Department has released crime statistics for the month of January. According to the activity report, there were six burglaries reported last month; three involved forced entry. Three of the burglaries were residential; the others were business-related. There was one armed robbery. There were 25 general thefts reported. All of that resulted in a total of $6830 in stolen property, of which around $1000 was recovered. Beaver Dam police officers issued fourteen tickets for Operating While Intoxicated, and issued eleven citations for liquor law violations. There were eight citations for Disorderly Conduct along with eight domestic incidents, one child abuse offense and two sex offenses reported. There were 82 adults arrested in January along with 32 minors. Violating the overnight winter parking ban resulted in 133 tickets, compared to 59 at the same time one year prior. In addition, 215 citations were issued for snow removal, compared to 173 in December. There were 32 traffic accidents in the city last month resulting in 7 injuries.

Lake Mills Man Survives Pond Crash

2/12/10 - A Lake Mills man survived a plunge into an ice-covered pond Wednesday morning. Fire department officials say Thomas Fisher's car slid off the road when he missed a corner. He slid right into a retention pond and broke through the ice. That ice pinned his car door shut while water was rising inside. Fisher was able to open the driver's side window, escape and call for help.

Watertown Fire

2/12/10 - Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a home in the Town of Watertown Tuesday morning. The Ixonia Fire Department says they do not consider the fire suspicious but the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating. The fire at the River Road residence broke out just before 10:45. Once on scene, fire fighters encountered some smoke and flames. Due to the windy conditions, the fire spread from one side of the house to the other. Authorities say the home is considered to be a complete loss. The owners, Rob and Jennifer Ebert, were not home at the time but officials were able to rescue the family’s two dogs.

Conservation Dept Urges Proper Capping of Wells

2/12/10 - County officials are urging residents to properly close old wells. Marc Bethke with the Dodge County Land Conservation Department says unused rural wells pose a threat to groundwater quality, especially those located within or near crop fields that could be impacted by manure or other contaminates carried by snow melt and storm water runoff. He says that state law requires a well owner to hire a licensed well-drilling or pump installing company to fill and seal an unused well. Bethke says most wells can be properly sealed and abandoned for less than $500 and some state cost-share funds are available to cover up to 70% of the well owner’s expense.

Thompson Still Not Ruling Out Senate Run

2/12/10 - Former Governor Tommy Thompson still left the door open Thursday to a possible U-S Senate candidacy, even though he just added a new corporate position to his work-load. After speaking at a management conference in Madison, the 68-year-old Republican said he remains undecided about joining the race. And he indicated he’s got plenty time, saying voters don’t normally make up their minds until after Labor Day. National Republicans decided not to write off the Wisconsin Senate race, after a Republican took the late Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat in Massachusetts. Madison developer Terrence Wall and Watertown businessman Dave Westlake remain the only G-O-P candidates for the seat held for 18 years by Democrat Russ Feingold. A couple of recent polls showed that Thompson could beat Feingold. Last week, Thompson was named to an advisory board for a private equity fund that invests in new farm-related companies.

Kuenzi Arraigned On Homicide Charge

2/12/10 - Two Waupaca County men have pleaded innocent to killing a man in a hit-and-run drunk driving crash in 2004, and then lying about it to authorities. 25-year-old Rory Kuenzi is accused of hitting Kevin McCoy with his pick-up truck after both had left a nearby underage drinking party. Authorities said Kuenzi placed McCoy’s body in a ditch and left. The other defendant, 24-year-old Walter Engel, denied a perjury charge. Attorneys will meet with the judge on May 13th to decide how the case will proceed from here. Meanwhile, Kuenzi is due back in court March 10th on charges connected with the slayings of six deer by snowmobiles on a Waupaca County trail 13 months ago. Authorities said Kuenzi stole the machine he allegedly used in the attacks. The incident resulted in a renewed investigation by the state Justice Department into McCoy’s traffic death.

Juneau Mayoral Candidates On Community Comment

2/12/10 - On Community Comment today we’ll hear from the four candidates competing for the mayor’s seat in Juneau. Clarence “Butch” Chase, Dan Jahnke, Jim Ronge and incumbent Mayor Ron Bosak will join us for the hour in the studio to discuss the issues. Tuesday’s primary election will determine which two candidates will appear on the April ballot. On Monday, we’ll hear from the three candidates vying for mayor in the city of Waupun. Community Comment airs weekdays on WBEV 1430AM beginning at 12:35pm.