Top Stories, October 14th

One Year For 12-Mile High Speed Chase

10/14/10 - A Hartford man was sentenced Wednesday to one year in jail for leading police on a high speed chase and crashing into a squad car. Officers attempted to stop Joshua Neu in February of last year after he was seen swerving and driving erratically on Highway 60. The 26-year-old then led police on a 12-mile pursuit across two counties with a blood-alcohol level that was twice the legal limit. The chase eventually went off road on Highway 67 just outside of Neosho. His vehicle got stuck, and in an effort to get away, Neu backed up and repeatedly rammed the squad car blocking his access to the road. The officer had to shoot out the window to get out of his vehicle and sustained minor injuries. Neu and his passenger escaped the scene, but Dodge County deputies tracked down the two about ten minutes later. Neu pleaded guilty in August to felony Fleeing, Criminal Damage To Property and Operating While Intoxicated and had three other felony charges and a misdemeanor dismissed. In addition to a year in jail with Huber privileges, Neu had his license revoked for a year and was placed on probation for three years. He was also ordered to pay over $25,000 in restitution.

Waupun Man Sentenced In BD Chase

10/14/10 - A Waupun man will spend 20 days in jail for leading Beaver Dam police on a high speed chase that reached speeds in excess of 100mph. On Memorial Day weekend, Dustin Erickson was clocked on his motorcycle going 50mph on North Spring Street. The 25-year-old sped up to 100mph as he headed out of town on County Highway B with a squad car following. Erickson stopped his motorcycle after two miles and immediately admitted that he was at fault to the arresting officer.

Koch Arraigned On High Speed Crash Charges

10/14/10 - A Burnett man entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment Wednesday to charges that he led police on a traffic pursuit before crashing into a parked car and then fleeing on foot. According to the criminal complaint, Keaton Koch failed to stop for an alleged traffic violation last month near the intersection of North Spring and Main streets in Beaver Dam. That allegedly sparked a chase and Koch lost control of his minivan while going around the curve near the Kraft Foods plant and struck an unoccupied parked car on the 600 block of South Center. The 23-year-old reportedly ran from the accident scene was apprehended after one block. Koch is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.

Wood Convicted On Second of Three OWI’s

10/14/10 - State Representative Jeff Wood was convicted Wednesday in the second of his three impaired driving cases over the last two years. The Independent from Chippewa Falls pleaded no contest in Marathon County to a reduced fourth offense of driving with a controlled substance. He was originally charged with four-time O-W-I. Circuit Judge Jill Falstad gave the 41-year-old Wood 60 days in jail with work release privileges. He must also spend two years on probation. Earlier this year, Wood served a 45-day jail term for drunk driving in Columbia County – and he was allowed to serve it in his home county of Chippewa, where he could go home during the day to work on legislative business. It was the only conviction that involved alcohol. The Marathon County case and a pending case in Monroe County accuse Wood of driving under excessive medications. Wood is scheduled to settle that case on October 26th, when a plea-and-sentencing hearing is set in Sparta. Wood is stepping down at the end of the year, after eight years in the Assembly.

Sheriffs Department Gets $50K For Speeding, OWI’s

10/14/10 - The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department has been awarded $50,000 in grant funding to crack down on drunken driving and speeding. Half of the money will help pay overtime for law enforcement officers while the rest will be used to buy new equipment.

Another Prison Sentence In Watertown Cocaine Ring

10/14/10 - All but two of the men indicted in connection with a multi-county cocaine distribution ring based in Watertown have been sentenced to prison. The most recent happened yesterday when Angel Ayala-Pineda was sentenced in federal court to 15 months in prison. The 28-year-old had managed to elude arrest for years, disappearing to his home country of Mexico. However, Ayala-Pineda returned to Watertown at some point in 2009 and was arrested this past May after being spotted at a gas station by local law enforcement. The Department of Justice conducted wiretaps between July of 2006 and June of 2008, monitoring hundreds of calls detailing drug transactions in Dodge and Jefferson Counties. Authorities executed a series of search warrants and seized over $100,000 in cash, multiple kilograms of cocaine and several automobiles.

New Trial Deadline For Dassey Extended

10/14/10 - A judge in Manitowoc now has until the end of the year to decide if Steven Avery’s nephew should get a new murder trial. A state appeals court is waiting for Circuit Judge Jerome Fox to make a decision on a second trial for Brendan Dassey. The appellate court originally set a deadline of July 26th for Fox to decide. That was later extended to October 29th. Now, Fox’s deadline has been moved up to December 31st. Dassey turns 21 this month. He and his uncle Steven Avery are both serving life in prison for raping, shooting, and burning Teresa Halbach on Halloween of 2005 at the Avery family’s auto salvage yard near Mishicot. Dassey and Avery are both seeking new trials, claiming that their original lawyers were not effective. Avery’s request is pending in the Court of Appeals. Dassey’s confession to police was a key to getting both him and his uncle convicted. But Dassey’s lawyers say officers coerced the youngster, who was 16 at the time – and a jury should have never heard what he told the officers. Judge Fox heard a week of testimony earlier this year on Dassey’s request for a new trial.

Joint Court May Move Out of Columbus

10/14/10 - The Columbus Council returned to meeting in their City Hall Chambers this week. The Council had been holding meetings at the Senior Center for the past four months while renovation of historic City Hall took place. With most of the renovation complete, one City Hall occupant … the Eastern Columbia County Joint Municipal Court … will NOT be moving back in to their home of the past ten years. The Municipal Court moved their sessions to the Columbus Community Center in June. The Court’s Judge and Clerk office is currently on the second floor of City Hall – but they do not want to stay there. Discussions are underway to determine where the office for the Court Judge and Court Clerk will be. The City has offered to rent Community Center office space to the Court while allowing free use of the Center’s commons area for official court sessions. Meanwhile the Joint Court Committee is also considering moving their Judge and Clerk’s office to sites in Fall River or Randolph. Approval of the 2011 Budget for the Municipal Court is a City Council consideration during the next two weeks as officials from the Joint Court Committee discuss office location options.

Fines Levied For Seafood Overcharging

10/14/10 - Ten companies have agreed to pay just over 100-thousand-dollars to settle claims that they over-charged Wisconsin shoppers for frozen seafood. The food is priced according to the weight of its packages. And state consumer protection officials said the 10 companies charged customers on the weight of the ice that clung to the frozen seafood. Consumer officials spent nine months investigating the matter. It found 157 violations at 23 supermarkets. The Supreme Lobster and Seafood Company paid the biggest fine, at just over 22-thousand-dollars. The Roundy’s, Wal-Mart, and Aldi’s grocery chains also paid penalties. None of the 10 businesses admitted wrongdoing.

BDAAA Course Covers Film Making and Distribution

10/14/10 - It’s not just about oil paintings anymore at the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association, where the local non-profit continues to diversify its course offerings. Among the newer classes: the Take One Short Movie and Film Course. It’s taught by Jason Gullickson, a local filmmaker who supplements his income with movie-making despite being hundreds of miles from Hollywood. Gullickson says technology has made cameras more affordable and more accessible than ever before and he says a good movie can easily be shot on anything from a standard digital camera to a cell phone. Gullickson says unlike most film classes, his course will address how modern technology has bridged the gap between the art of filming and the business of distribution. The Beaver Dam resident says for the first time in the history of movie-making, a film maker has several low-cost or no-cost options for world-wide distribution thanks to websites like youtube.com and amazon.com, which now manufactures and distributes single DVD’s for the consumer. Gullickson says the class will also focus on the fundamentals of film making, including lighting, editing and the building blocks of story-telling. There are still some seats open in the class, which starts tonight and continues Thursdays through November 18 at the Seippel Homestead and Center for the Arts. Cost is $25 or $15 for members of the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association. The Take One Short Movie and Film Course is one of several newer offerings by the Arts Association, joining classes this semester on photography, novel and songwriting and digital scrapbooking. More information is available at bdaaa.org.

Wisconsin Joins National Foreclosure Investigation

10/14/10 - Wisconsin has joined a national investigation into home foreclosures. Attorney General J-B Van Hollen and the state’s Banking Division are among those trying to find out if mortgage service employees submitted improper documents that were used to foreclose on homeowners. At issue is whether those required to verify documents had actually read them before giving them to a court to approve foreclosures. The National Association of Attorneys General said it appeared that affidavits and other court records were signed by those who didn’t have personal knowledge of the affected foreclosure cases. Also, the group said many affidavits were apparently signed without being notarized as required by state laws. All 50 states and Washington D-C are involved in the foreclosure probe. Bank of America, J-P Morgan Chase, and G-M-A-C’s Mortgage Unit were among those halting questionable foreclosures since the issue first came up. Wells Fargo is still processing foreclosures, saying it did nothing wrong. Citigroup and others are also continuing to handle those cases.