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Schmitt Sentencing on Monday

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt is scheduled to be in Brown County Circuit Court Monday morning for a plea and sentencing hearing on three charges in connection with violating Wisconsin's campaign finance laws.

Last week, Schmitt's attorney and the special prosecutor in the case each filed a sentencing memorandum explaining what they believe is the proper punishment for the 58-year-old.

Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf is asking Judge Mitchell Metropulos for a $4,000 fine and 40 hours of community service. Landgraf didn't seek jail time, per the plea agreement reached by both parties ahead of charges being filed back in September.

Defense attorney Patrick Knight believes that a $1,500 fine is punishment enough for his client. He also wrote that Schmitt continues to face the added penalty of "public shaming" as the result of this case.

Schmitt is charged with these 3 misdemeanor counts: attempted false statements to an election official, attempted accepting campaign contribution funds not belonging to reported contributor and attempted accepting campaign contribution in excess of limits. They were initially felonies, according to the criminal complaint.

WTAQ obtained the investigative report conducted by the Brown County Sheriff's Department during the 20-month probe. It's the basis for the 34 other counts that Landgraf asked the judge to consider while deciding on his sentence.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

LATE AFFIDAVIT

Last Thursday, a Green Bay resident filed an affidavit arguing that the plea deal for Schmitt is improper.

The filing from David A. VanderLeest argues that dropping the charges from felonies to misdemeanors, "would be to enter a foreign jurisdiction outside of the laws passed by the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate and signed into law by Wisconsin's Governor." VanderLeest also says should Schmitt plead guilty, he should vacate his right to hold office.

Landgraf, in an email, would only say when asked about the filing, "I have no comment on the issue." He prefers to leave his, "comments to be gleaned from what I file and what I say in court."

Schmitt's attorney, Patrick Knight, did not respond to our request for comment. 

It's unclear what role, if any, this affidavit will have during Monday's hearing.

 


Several Hurt in Multi-Vehicle Crash

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The investigation continues after a multi-vehicle crash Saturday on Green Bay's west side.

Police say several people were injured in the crash that happened in the area of S. Ashland Ave. and W. Mason Street.

"At this point, it does not appear alcohol was involved. However, we are looking into a possible medical related issue that may have been taking place," Lt. Jody Buth with the Green Bay Police Department told FOX 11. 

The investigation continues and there's no updated word on the conditions of those people hurt in the crash.

 

Stolen Hit-Run Vehicle Sought

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OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Oshkosh need your help finding the driver and passengers inside a stolen vehicle which rammed a squad car and drove away.

The incident happened in the drive-thru area of a McDonald's restaurant in the 1800 block of Jackson Street around 7:20 p.m. Friday.

Officials say the stolen vehicle is a silver 2004 Nissan Maxima with Wisconsin license plate number 143-TAF. It also has extensive front end damage.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Oshkosh Police Department at 920-236-5700 or Winnebago CountyWide Crime Stoppers at 920-231-8477. You can also text IGOTYA and your tip to 274637 or go to www.winnebagocrimestoppers.org to submit your tip online.

A cash reward of $1,000 could be available.

Crews Deal with Vehicle, Building Fire

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FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - Multiple fire crews battled a fire which quickly went from a vehicle to a building in Fond du Lac.

According to Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue, they were called Saturday around 6:19 a.m. to 68 John Street.

Firefighters saw flames coming from the roof of a building which contained multiple small businesses.

There was heavy damage to the building after the fire was put out. No one was hurt.

"You're trying to fight a fire and the only way to get at it is to cut a hole in the roof for it to come through the roof. And it eventually came through, so we had to poor water in from the top. We couldn't do a lot from the inside," Troy Haase with Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue told FOX 11.

The DNR, American Red Cross and Alliant Energy were also called to the scene.

It's unclear what caused the fire and it remains under investigation. 

Green Bay Police Take Command

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's an impressive looking vehicle inside and out.

The Green Bay Police Department has a new command vehicle and allowed WTAQ to take a look inside the big machine.

The multi-purpose vehicle will be used as a command post in the field helping them in SWAT situations or any big event happening in the city, like the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon or 4th of July celebrations.

Lt. Keith Gering says they got the used vehicle from the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department and picked it up in Ohio on November 2, 2016.

"So Alexandria basically designed the vehicle which is perfect for what we needed it for. It was a multi-purpose vehicle versus having something that was either a SWAT vehicle or a negotiator vehicle or just a command post."

To the average eye it may just look like a very large, RV type vehicle but to the police department it's invaluable to fighting crime.

"So there's five hard work stations in here with computers we can use. There's a laptop station here...printer, fax machine. It does have hard line phone capability, that if you want to plug into hard line, we can use the phones otherwise there's a telular system. There's switches we can flip inside the bus that can transition the phones to cellular service," Gering said.

A new command vehicle, similar to the one they purchased, would normally cost $750,000 but they acquired it at a much reduced rate.

Watch the video above to take a peek inside the new command vehicle.

Child Sex Crimes An Issue In Rural Areas

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MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - State investigators have taken their fight against human trafficking and child sex crimes to the Marinette-Menominee area.

Two people are charged with felonies after a recent sting, but investigators say there is still plenty of work to do.

Special agent Carl Waterstreet tells WLUK the state's first undercover human trafficking operation around Marinette shows children in rural areas aren't immune to the crime.

"We didn't know what to expect because we had never done one up there before. Yet, when we were on these classified websites and social media sites, we could see that there was a problem."

Waterstreet is with the Department of Criminal Investigation, which is under the state's Department of Justice.

He says on Oct. 21, four DCI agents posted ads and responded to ads on social media apps and websites like Craigslist and Backpage.

"Marinette doesn't have the resources that a lot of these agencies have because they're so thin staffing wise, so we try to direct our resources with the Department of Justice to those type of agencies"

He says agents exchanged messages with more than 150 people over 12 hours, but only two arrests were made.

Charles Deal of Little Chute and Gerard Ratajczak of Luxemburg are both charged with two felonies. They face felony charges of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. Ratajczak is also charged with child enticement-sexual contact, and Deal is also charged with soliciting a child for prostitution.

Lt. Jim Valley of the Brown Co. Sheriff's Office has worked on similar operations in the Green Bay area.

"This is a difficult thing for everybody to grasp, whether it's in our community or not in our community, and maybe we're not seeing individuals just right up on the street participating in some type of commercial sex act"

Valley says the signs may be difficult to spot, but law enforcement wants to hear about anything out of the ordinary.

"Do they see a lot of activity that may not be related to drug activity in the area? Maybe at certain hotels, are they seeing people coming in and out of the room, multiple traffic?"

DCI, Brown County and other law enforcement plan to work on new educational materials about human trafficking in the year ahead. The goal is to teach business owners and hotels about the signs to look for.

Valley also says Brown Co. will add another investigator next year to its Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

House Fire Puts 3 People Out In The Cold

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Three people have been displaced from their home, after a house fire in Green Bay.

Crews responded to the fire at the 3300 block of Nautical Avenue around 9:00 pm Sunday night.

Heavy smoke and flames could be seen coming from the roof of the house.

The fire was knocked down in less than 10 minutes.

No one was injured. The Red Cross is assisting the occupants.

Investigators working to determine the cause of the fire.

Damage is estimated at $80,000.

Gun Buyback Huge Success

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Police Department chalk up a big win after this weekend's illegal and unwanted gun buyback program.

The 1st annual Goods for Guns event took place on Saturday and exceeded officer’s expectations bringing in over 100 firearms.

Here's the breakdown of what was brought in:

  • Handguns- 49
  • Shot Guns- 46 (including two sawed-off) 
  • Rifles- 27
  • Pellet/BB Rifles- 4
  • 100's of rounds of handgun, shotgun and rifle ammunition were turned in.

Captain Kevin Warych says bottom line, it was about getting illegal, unwanted guns off the streets.

The event took place in the Sam's Club parking lot on W. Mason Street from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The program could not have been possible without a $2,000 grant from the Brown County Crime Prevention Foundation.

The department hopes to do the program again next year.


Schmitt Gets Fine, Community Service

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - After nearly two years of investigation and innuendo, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt was handed his punishment for breaking Wisconsin's campaign finance laws.

Outagamie County Judge Mitchell Metropulos sentenced the 58-year-old Schmitt to 40 hours of community service and ordered him to pay a $4,000 fine on Monday morning.

Schmitt agreed to plead guilty to 3 misdemeanor charges: attempted false statements to an election official, attempted accepting campaign contribution funds not belonging to reported contributor and attempted accepting campaign contribution in excess of limits.

"Your honor, I am really sorry," Schmitt said in Brown County Circuit Court when asked by Judge Metropulos if he had anything to say. "I apologize to the court, to my family and especially to the citizens of Green Bay. This will never happen again and I'm sorry, I'm responsible."

The punishment Metropulos gave was exactly that sought by the special prosecutor in this 20-month investigation, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf. Landgraf did not make himself available for comment after court.

Schmitt's attorney, Patrick Knight of Milwaukee, sought a more lenient sentence of just a $1,500 fine. Knight primarily argued that there was never an intent to break the law, like pocketing or laundering the money, but rather a misunderstanding of the often confusing world of the state's campaign finance laws.

"It was the manner in which it was characterized," Knight said during a press conference after court. "Mr. Landgraf viewed it as there was an intent to mislead, but if you recall during his address to the court, at the same time, everyone that he approached and went out and interviewed, he didn't receive one indication that there had been contact by the mayor to steer their comments or change their response at all."

Judge Metropulos ruled that Schmitt must pay the fine and fulfill the 40 hours of community service within the next 60 days. Schmitt has 20 days to file a notice of appeal and also must submit a DNA sample as part of his conviction. No indication was given by Schmitt or Knight that they intend to appeal the sentence.

Schmitt plans to serve at least some of his community service at New Community Shelter on Green Bay’s west side.

SCHMITT TELLS HIS SIDE

From the beginning of this affair, Schmitt has not publicly commented about the allegations, charges, whispers nor anything else tied to his publicly-available campaign finance records. So Monday was the first chance to hear from the top Titletown leader what he was going through at the time he erroneously filed, and re-filed these reports.

"I didn't take the accuracy as serious and I should've spent the money to have an accountant or a lawyer do that for me, I didn't," Schmitt explains. "My mindset back then was the City of Green Bay and my family. And that's all I work on, and that's all I do. It came to something to get this campaign finance report, I just sat down at the kitchen table and put things together. There's all these checks, it was that 10-15 minutes of my life that's caused me 2 years of pain."

Schmitt says that he doesn't do his own taxes, and that this was a hard lesson he won't soon forget. Especially since it was the first time ever he had to appear before a judge. 

"I just don't know that I, or a lot of other people quite honestly, take this as seriously as one should," says Schmitt. "You tell people they over gave (funding), they're like, how can I give more?? I always thought, and was told, that one could split donations. That was from people in this community who send money. I've been doing this for some time, I've been under the understanding that a couple could give $2,000 and it's not. It's $1,040 per person. It was something that I was wrong on."

Knight followed by saying that there's a protocol with making campaign donations that most people don't know anything about. While it's not an excuse, Knight believes that anyone could see the high level of misconceptions about what's legal and what isn't.

TOO LIGHT OF A SENTENCE?

The sentencing recommendation provided by Landgraf to the judge in this case, which was ultimately used, was based upon the investigative report conducted by the Brown County Sheriff's Office. There were an additional 34 counts which the special prosecutor gave for consideration.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Brown County, all three attempts are written as class I felonies. They carry a maximum penalty of nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines per count.

Schmitt on Monday pled guilty to three class A Misdemeanor counts. So how did they arrive at those charges?

"The exact same conduct is identified as everything from a felony to a forfeiture," Knight says. "This is an area in which there's a great deal of prosecutorial discretion. It is unusual, in this sense, that there's this wide gamut. I don't want to put words in his (Landgraf) mouth, but I thought he laid out from the outset that he, at no time, did he view these as rising to the level that they would warrant an attempt to prosecute on a felony. I think you'd be very, very hard pressed to find a prosecutor in the state who has decided that differently."

Knight cited a lack of historical basis for that in Wisconsin, nor would how these matters are viewed, investigated or responded to that would justify felony charges. 

"That was never a consideration because the facts involved didn't warrant that," says Knight. "And the disagreements that we had was whether it should, in essence, rise to the level of a misdemeanor."

Knight defended his belief that misdemeanor charges were too harsh of a penalty for his client. He also talked about the timing of when the public learned about this plea deal, which came in September before formal charges were filed.

"The prosecution controls that and there are a number of considerations, there were discussions that took place over a protracted period of time," Knight stated. "Because he was a special prosecutor assigned to Brown County to investigate this, there was also the consideration that he's got to coordinate with another county he's not familiar with, and that there then will be a process by which a judge is assigned and because of the mayor's prominence in that regard, anticipating that there will be recusals by a number of judges. Yes, it is not the norm to announce that there's been an agreement, but in this instance, the logistics of everything involved, I think that he felt more comfortable getting it out there in front and he could address that with the Brown County authorities involved and get the process involved."

Also part of Knight's explanation of that question was the tidbit that the plan was to get everything wrapped up in one court appearance. However, Knight says "extraneous matters" from Landgraf that had nothing to do with these proceedings, which caused the extra court hearing.

SCHMITT'S FUTURE

Not everyone was satisfied with the sentence given to Schmitt on Monday. Frequent mayoral critic, Alderman Guy Zima, attended the proceeding and spoke to the media afterward.

"It was a summary whitewash of the whole affair," Zima said. "And I don't think it does justice to the people of Green Bay that he gets by with a fine and a little community service."

Zima, who also was one of three alderman who filed this complaint against Schmitt, continues to believe that Schmitt is not contrite or sorry for what he did.

"This is not a naive gentleman that didn't know what he was doing, he attempted to blame others in the beginning," said Zima. "He only cooperated when he knew he was trapped. He still claims it was unintentional."

The next step at the common council level could be removal from office, which requires 9 votes from the 12-member body. 

"Since he pled guilty I'm assuming we would at least censure to removal from office, I suppose it's possible. We might say since the court handled this the council doesn't need to do anything,” Alderman Randy Scannell told FOX 11, “If the public wishes to start a recall against him then that's the political consequence."

Scannell added that he anticipates "something will happen." There could also be an ethics complaint filed by a Green Bay resident. WTAQ has learned that could be filed within the next few days. Council members also may have a session in 2 or 3 weeks to determine whether the council would take any further action against the mayor.

But Knight is throwing cold water on all of this talk.

"The statutes clearly define that you can't then take action to remove someone for conduct that isn't related to their performance to their mayoral duties," Knight says. "If they (council members) have the sense to go to the city attorney, because otherwise you could incur a lot of expense in doing something that the law does not allow to be done."

Schmitt maintained that he would not resign and wanted to turn the page on this chapter in his life. However, he was not committing to announcing another run to lead Titletown.

"I have another chapter in my life to write and it will benefit Green Bay, but I'm not sure it's gonna be in elected office," says Schmitt. "Look, I want to look at Jim Schmitt too. Thinking about the next 20 years of my life, and I love the city and I'm going to benefit the city but it may not be as mayor."

After 16 years serving as Green Bay's leader, Schmitt opined that he believes someone is out there with vision, a strong work ethic that could do this. He also urged them, whomever it might be, to begin giving their potential future in his position some "serious thought."

Holiday Shipping Deadlines

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Christmas is 20 days away and time is running out if you're shipping presents to loved ones, whether domestic or international.

US Postal Service spokesman Sean Hargadon says get your packages in the mail now if you're shipping overseas. If you're sending presents domestically, you still have more time.

"The deadline for sending out a card, letter, or package First Class mail would be December 20...you have a little bit of time coming up. For Priority Mail it would be December 21 and for Priority Mail Express it would be December 23."

If you're shipping overseas you have even less time and should think about getting the packages in the mail soon rather than later.

"Depending upon where they're going, you know you're kind of running at a point now where you probably have to be sending stuff out Priority Mail Express and some cases when you get closer Global Express Mail guarantees," said Hargadon.

Despite what some may think, the package business is not slowing down. USPS expects to deliver roughly 750 million packages.

For more details on shipping deadlines, go to www.about.usps.com.

Click on the link at the top, for tips on protecting your mail and packages.

Truck Sought in Death Investigation

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FOX LAKE, WI (WTAQ) - Officials need the public's help locating a vehicle which may be connected with a suspicious death investigation in Dodge County.

According to the sheriff's office, the vehicle is a blue 2016 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab pickup truck that was driven in the Fox Lake area over the weekend. 

No other information is being released, other than that the death took place in the City of Fox Lake.

Anyone with information regarding the vehicle please contact the Dodge County Sheriff's Office at (920) 386-3726.

Police Seek Person of Interest

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OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Oshkosh police are looking for a person of interest in connection with the theft of a vehicle.

Officials are looking for 51-year-old Myron Batiste of Oshkosh with regards to a theft that happened in the 500 block of Grand Street on Sunday. 

Police say that vehicle was later found, unoccupied, in the 1900 block of Evans Street.

Batiste is described by police as 6'0", 238 pounds with a shaved head and brown eyes.

If you have any information on Batistie's whereabouts, please contact the Oshkosh Police Department at (920) 236-5700.

If you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Winnebago County Wide Crime Stoppers at (920) 231-8477 or text IGOTYA and your crime tip to 274637 or go to Winnebagocrimestoppers.org. You may be eligible for a reward if your information leads to an arrest.

Task Force Says New Schools Are Needed

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - On Monday, a community-led task force at the Green Bay school board meeting laid out the solutions it believes could help ease overcrowding in the Green Bay Area School District.

The task force was appointed by the school board two months ago to address facility needs in the district.

Task force co-chair Tim Weyenberg spoke to WLUK.

"If I can use the word critical issue, that is the overcrowding on the east side, and then there are a variety of strategies to deal with that”

Weyenberg said the task force is recommending the district build two new facilities on the east side -- a new K-8 school and a new high school.

"Preble is crowded, as is Baird, and both of those schools need some relief in some way. So, if new facilities are the answer then we're recommending they go ahead and do that"

Along with new facilities, Weyenberg and the task force is recommending the district look at changing the school boundary lines.

"The timing of those facilities and the place that they're built all really depend on what they do with the boundaries, if they want to do anything”

School board vice president Katie Maloney

“Those were all things that the board has been considering, but we needed to hear from some other people what some priorities are”

Maloney added before the board decides which direction to move in, it'll have to look at cost.

"As we go forward and consider a referendum we need to take that in to account, how much are we willing to spend in a referendum"

The decision on cost won't happen until after an architect’s report on the December 19th. Then the board has another month to decide whether or not to have a referendum.

Uproar Again Over Sex Offender Placement

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FOND DU LAC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - The Town of El Dorado is back in the news, dealing with the unpopular placement of a sex offender.

It was year ago when the Fond Du Lac County community was in an uproar after a Milwaukee County judge ordered the placement of convicted sex offender Clint Rhymes at a residence on Nitschke Road.

Now, County Sheriff Mick Fink says it looks like a replay, in the same house, over the placement of 61 year old Terry Olson.

Fink says no one is getting a straight answer.

"They're asking questions, then getting ambiguous answers. He makes a decision.... a local sheriff like me goes up in arms and a Township goes up in arms saying wait a minute, we're being bushwhacked again"

Fink says those looking to place Olson told the judge a misleading story.

"When the judge asked if the sheriff was notified they said yes he was, and then changed the subject. When the judge asked if the township was notified they say they can read CCAP"

The sheriff says Olson sexually assaulted more than 30 young children and believes he still has that desire.

"The concern is with over 30 victims and him verbalizing that he still gets aroused around children concerns me. And I think that's what sheriff's are supposed to get concerned about"

There's not much time to stop the process though.

Olson is supposed to be placed in the residence on Thursday, the same day a Washington County judge is set to consider a motion for reconsideration on the placement.

WATCH: Lincoln Elementary School Evacuated

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Officials at one Green Bay elementary school have evacuated students and teachers to the cafeteria after some fifth-graders played with what believed to be mercury.

Lincoln Elementary School Principal Angela Hager says one of the students brought a vial of a silvery metallic substance from home. Hager says 6 students were playing with it on the playground Tuesday and brought it back to the school.

Once the substance was discovered, the building was evacuated with students and staff members being put outside for about 30 minutes. Firefighters eventually determined the cafeteria was safe and allowed students and staff to go there.

All of the students were checked out by firefighters, who determined there was no immediate medical concerns. Green Bay Metro Fire Captain Nick Craig says about 3 milliliters of the substance was gone from the vial after students returned it. Craig says their main concern is inhalation.

A hazardous-materials team was also called to the school, and was waiting for special monitoring devices to arrive from Madison and Milwaukee to determine whether anyone or anything is contaminated.

No students, including early childhood or 4K, will be dismissed until they have been checked out by emergency crews.

All afternoon 4K and early childhood classes were canceled. The after-school program, winter concert, and cookies and crafts event were also cancelled.

The school district asks parents not to go to the school until further direction is received.

Learn more about mercury from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Photos of Damaged Squad Car Released

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OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Oshkosh police are releasing photos of a damaged squad vehicle as the search continues for the driver of a stolen car continues.

Police say the incident happened in the drive-through lane of a McDonald's restaurant in the 1800 block of Jackson Street last Friday evening.

The stolen vehicle is described as a silver four-door 2004 Nissan Maxima with Wisconsin license plate number 143-TAF. Police say the car has extensive front-end damage. Four people were inside of that car, police say.

Anyone with information is asked to call Oshkosh police at (920) 236-5700. Anonymous tips may be left with Crime Stoppers by phone at (920) 231-8477, by text message with the keyword IGOTYA to 274637 or online.

Woman Convicted of Killing Husband

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APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - An Appleton woman has been convicted in connection with the murder of her husband.

On Tuesday, Tina Hafeman pled no contest to first-degree reckless homicide for the May 27 killing of Chad Hafeman. Online court records show that Tina Hafeman will be sentenced on February 3.

Police say the couple argued while drunk and she stabbed him.

Tina Hafeman faces up to 60 years in prison. She was initially charged with first-degree intentional homicide, but the charged was reduced. 

 

Shots Fired in Argument Leads to Arrest

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MENASHA, WI (WTAQ) - Menasha police say a man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly firing shots during an argument.

According to police, officers were called around 12:30 p.m. Sunday to the 900 block of Third Street. A man was seen leaving the area, and he made it into an apartment before officers could speak with him. They waited around and the suspect was arrested when he left the apartment a short time later.

The suspect was arguing with the mother of his child in the parking lot of the apartment complex when he fired two shots, investigators say. No one was hurt. Police have not located the gun, but do say that evidence shows the shots were fired.

The man is facing charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety with a firearm and disorderly conduct, both with penalty enhancers as domestic incidents.

Man Arrested After Crash

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TOWN OF GIBSON, WI (WTAQ) - A crash in Manitowoc County on Monday leads to the arrest of a Green Bay man.

According to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened on Highway 147 in the Town of Gibson around 5:45 p.m. One of the five passengers was trapped inside the vehicle when deputies arrived.

The driver had run away, but with the help of a police dog, officials found him hiding at a home near the scene.

Investigators say the driver, 30-year-old Daniel Munoz, was going westbound when he lost control, went into the ditch on the right-hand side of the road and struck a power pole.

Officials say all 5 passengers -- a 17-year-old Green Bay boy, a 17-year-old Green Bay girl, a 21-year-old Green Bay man, a 26-year-old Oshkosh woman and a 32-year-old Green Bay woman -- were taken to a hospital. None of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

Munoz was arrested and jailed on charges of causing great bodily harm, causing injury by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, and operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license and causing great bodily harm.

He's expected to appear in court Tuesday.

Tower Climber Pleads Not Guilty

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MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - The man accused of climbing the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department communications tower is pleading not guilty.

The Clerk of Courts office say that a trial date was not set for 43-year-old Thomas Elliot, who entered his plea Tuesday.

Elliott climbed the tower on November 16 and remained up there for about nine hours, police say. He climbed as high as 150 feet, drinking and tossing beer cans off the tower.

Officers say Elliott threatened to jump off the tower several times, and even said he would destroy the tower and kill himself with an improvised explosive device he claimed to be carrying.

Crisis negotiators eventually talked Elliott into coming down from the tower around 2 a.m.

He's charged with making a terrorist threat, due to the threat to blow up the tower, and disorderly conduct. Also Tuesday, Elliott requested a substitution of the judge assigned to the case.

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