PRESS RELEASES

Press Releases December 2012

 

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Date:              December 23, 2012               
Case(s):          12-41733 Homicide
Authority:      Sheriff  Dale Schmidt

On December 21st, 2012 at approximately 9:21 pm, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a male subject stating he had killed his father.  Deputies responded to an address on Upland Dr. in the Village of Richfield where the suspect exited the residence and surrendered.  Deputies entered the residence where they found the 76 year old homeowner deceased.

The victim’s 37 year old son who also lived at the residence confessed to the crime and is currently incarcerated in the Washington County Jail on one count of First Degree Intentional Homicide.  There are no other suspects being considered.  It is expected that the suspect will have his first court appearance on Wednesday, December 26th.

No other information will be released by the Sheriff’s Office at this time.

 

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Date:              December 22, 2012
Case(s):         12-41789 Car Accident
Authority:      Sgt. Tim Kemps 414/1086

On 12/25/12 at approximately 2:04pm the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a two vehicle car accident with multiple injuries on STH 144 at Pine Lane in the Town of Farmington. 

Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the scene along with the Boltonville Fire Department and Kewaskum Rescue.  Upon arrival at scene it was determined that there were five patients and assistance was requested from Random Lake Rescue as well as West Bend Rescue and Paramedic Intercept.  Flight For Life was later dispatched to the scene.

The investigation revealed that a northbound vehicle driven by a 20 year old Elk Mound man was driving on STH 144 approaching Pine Lane.   A vehicle in front of them was slowing or stopping to wait for a southbound vehicle to pass so they could turn onto Pine Lane.  The car driven by the 20 year old man swerved into the southbound lane of traffic to avoid rear ending the stopped car and was struck by the southbound pickup truck that was driven by a 51 year old Plymouth man.

A total of 4 occupants were injured in the northbound vehicle.  The lone occupant of the southbound truck was also injured.  Flight For Life transported one 20 year old female to Froedtert Medical Complex with a non life threatening injuries.  The other four patients were transported to St. Josephs Hospital with non life threatening injuries.  The 20 year old Elk Mound man was cited for Operating Left of Center.  All the people involved in the accident were wearing safety belts. 

Driver of northbound car
Gregory W Lackey Elk Mound 20 year old

Driver of southbound car
Steven J Steinke Plymouth 51 year old

 

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Date:              December 21, 2012
Case(s):          Winter Storm Information
Authority:      Sheriff Dale Schmidt

Severe winter storm conditions continued throughout the afternoon and night of Dec. 20th in Washington County.  The afternoon and early evening brought heavy snowfall with many reports of vehicles off road and stuck in traffic on hills.  The later evening brought less snow, but higher winds which created drifting in the outlying areas and many broken tree limbs or trees toppling over and striking power lines.  Several area fire departments were called to arcing power lines or actual fires in trees as a precaution.  Localized power outages occurred across the county during night time hours.  No requests for sheltering assistance were made to the Sheriff’s Office however.

The Washington County Radio System experienced power outages at six tower sites, but realized no system outages as back-up power systems activated properly.

Although difficult at times, Washington County Highway crews kept State and County roads passable throughout the night.  High winds and snow made this a challenge particularly in the northwestern part of the county along US41.  Some Township roads were passable only with 4-wheel drive overnight.

The Sheriff’s Office staffed approximately 15 Deputies and three Communications Officers throughout the storm.  Comm. Officers dispatched nearly 300 incidents to Deputies and Village Police Officers during the storm.  Incident numbers are typically underreported due to multiple spinouts in the same area.

TODAY:  Winds are forecasted to remain active and will continue to cause some drifting and icy areas of roadway.  Currently roads are in fair condition but drivers should remain at reduced speeds.  High snow banks will cause sight line problems at some intersections.  

 

Sheriff's Office Service Calls during 32-Hour Storm Period

	WED 19-Dec. 22:00	THURS 20-Dec. 6:00	THURS 20-Dec. 18:00	FRI 21-Dec. 6:00
Crashes-Injury	1	0	0	1
Crashes-Damage Only	5	7	0	12
Vehicles in Ditch	16	41	34	91
Hazardous	9	21	30	60
FIRE		3	10	13
RESCUE	2	6	3	11
ALL OTHER	-	-	-	34
	33	78	77	222
Avg. 7 calls per hour

 

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Date:                     December 20, 2012
Subject:               Inclement Weather
Authority:            Dale K. Schmidt, Sheriff

As of 2:00 pm, road conditions in Washington County are rapidly deteriorating.  The heavy snow is causing roads to become snow covered and slippery.  Additionally, some areas are becoming iced over and vehicles are experiencing problems getting up hills.  Travel is not advised.

The Sheriff's Office has currently deployed 15 Deputies to respond to incidents.  The Office is not aware of any power outages at this time.

 

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Date:                   December 19, 2012-12-19
Subject:              Calls for Service on 12-18-12
Authority:           Sheriff Dale Schmidt

The Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to numerous vehicles in the ditch and minor accidents on Tuesday Dec. 18th.

From 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm, Deputies responded to 30 vehicles in the ditch, 23 property damage accidents, and 3 minor injury accidents. These incidents occurred in all geographic areas of the county.

Additionally, overnight there were two more vehicles in the ditch, and one minor injury accident in which the driver was arrested for OWI.

 

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Date:               December 17, 2012
Case:               2012-41045 Structure Fire
Authority:       Sergeant Ryan Herman 

On Monday, December 17, 2012 at 1:18 AM the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a structure fire at 5950 Clover Road in the Town of Hartford, Washington County. The property owner advised an outbuilding of his was fully engulfed in flames. Upon Sheriff’s Office arrival the deputy was able to assist in evacuating one animal from the building. The St. Lawrence Fire Department arrived on scene and extinguished the fire.

The outbuilding was a metal pole shed (Morton), approximately 50’ x 80’ with a wall in the middle dividing the building into two sections. The west section of the building was used for cold storage and animal shelter while the east section was used as a working shop. The shop was insulated and contained a homemade wood stove to provide heat to the shop. The burning wood stove was last tended to at 11:25 PM the previous day. The fire originated in the shop area of the shed, in the vicinity of the wood stove. Within the shop area was a skid loader, truck and other equipment used during employment by the property owner.

The building and its contents were a total loss with a damage estimate exceeding $100,000 dollars. The building and its contents were insured. There were no injuries as a result of the fire and the only animal in the building was evacuated safely. The St Lawrence Fire Department was assisted on scene by the following fire departments; Allenton, Slinger, Hartford and West Bend.

Property Owner
Carl Schwendimann
Hartford WI 53027

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Date:               December 16, 2012
Case:               2012-40871 Farmington Fire Update
Authority:       Sergeant Ryan Herman

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate yesterday’s fatal fire that occurred at 7691 STH 144 (Dicks Club 144) in the Town of Farmington. No new information is available, however the name of both residents are now being released:

Deceased
Richard Ralph Winter - Age 70
West Bend, WI

Survivor
Dorthy Mae Downs - Age 74
West Bend, WI 

 

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 Date:             December 15,2012
Case:            2012-40871 (Fatal Fire)
Authority:     Lt. Bruce Theusch    

On 12-15-2012 at 1:17 am a passing motorist notified the Washington County Sheriff’s Office of a fire at Dick’s Club 144, located at 7691 STH 144 in the Town of Farmington.  The passing motorist reported flames coming out of a first story window.

Boltonville and West Bend Fire Departments were dispatched to the scene, due an unknown exact location of the fire.  While emergency units were responding to the scene, they learned that there was an individual trapped inside the structure.  The second story of the structure which is living quarters was occupied by a male and female prior to the fire. Both were awaken by smoke coming from the first story. The male subject, age 70, went down stairs to investigate the fire where he collapsed. The female subject, age 74, escaped the residence by going to a 2nd story balcony, where she was rescued by West Bend Firefighters.  Boltonville Firefighters immediately entered the engulfed 1st story and located the male subject deceased.

Fire units from Fillmore, Kewaskum, Newburg, Beechwood, Kohlsville and Silver Creek assisted at the scene.

The fire remains under investigation by the Boltonville Fire Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.  Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the State Fire Marshall’s are assisting at the scene.

 The building and contents were a total loss; however a dollar estimate is not available at this time.

 The names of the occupants are being held pending notification of relatives.

 It is unknown if there were functioning smoke detectors at the time of the fire, the surviving occupant indicated that she was alerted to the fire by the smell of smoke.

The tavern portion of the structure was closed at the time of the fire.

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Date:           December 8, 2012        
Case #         2012-40148
Authority:    Lt. Robert Martin

Fire destroyed two structures at a residence in the 8900 block of Fillmore Rd Saturday evening, in the Town of Farmington.

The Sheriff’s office was contacted by one of the homeowners around 10:20pm reporting they returned home and noticed a chicken coop at their residence was on fire. The Fillmore Fire Dept responded. They were assisted by units from the Boltonville Fire Dept.  Prior to emergency crews arriving on scene, the owners reported the fire had spread to a garage on the property as well.

The garage was a 20ft X 20ft structure used as a shop and storage area. It was not attached to the residence, but was in close proximity to the chicken coop. No one was injured, but both structures and their contents were a total loss. The buildings were insured but a total dollar amount for the loss was not available.

The cause of the fire does not appear suspicious and is believed to possibly be related to a heat lamp that was on in the chicken coop at the time.

Emergency crews remained on scene for several hours while the fire was extinguished.

Home Owners- Wesley Weinhold and Peggy Cadigan   8975 Fillmore Rd.

 

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Date:                     December 6, 2012
Case:                   12-39837 House fire
Authority:            Sgt. Ryan Herman          

On December 6th, 2012 at 1:36 am the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of fire in the basement level of Town of Addison residence at 5286 Indian Drive. A homeowner from the residence advised all three occupants had evacuated the structure safely. On deputies’ arrival, heavy smoke was visible but no flames could be seen from the exterior of the residence. The homeowner was alerted to the smoke and fire after waking up to a strong odor of smoke. The St. Lawrence Fire Department contained the fire to a small section of the home prior to extinguishing the flames. Fire assistance was provided by Allenton, Slinger and Hartford Fire Departments.

Initial investigation reveals the fire may have been caused by numerous articles of personal property within close proximity of the working wood furnace, igniting and spreading flames to other nearby property. The flames then spread to air returns in the first level floor, allowing the fire to spread easily before being extinguished. The fire was contained to the property in the basement near the wood furnace and floor rafters above the furnace on the first floor level. The entire ranch style home suffered smoke damage, but the exterior structure of the home was not damaged as a result of the incident.

The residence had smoke detectors but none of them were in working condition. The insured residence has an undetermined amount of damage. Assistance from the Red Cross wasn’t needed, as they had family in the area to assist them. There were no injuries as a result of the incident.

Homeowners
Lawrence and Carol Beistle
Hartford WI

 

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Date:                     December 1, 2012
Case:                   12-37657  Washington County(2012CF000442)
Authority:           Sheriff Dale Schmidt

On November 29, 2012, a 21 year old Barton man was charged in Washington County Circuit Court with one count of Felony-Child Abuse-Intentionally Causing Harm.

This charge is the result of an investigation conducted by Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives originating on November 16th.  On that date, the defendant and the infant’s mother took her two week old daughter to a local clinic for treatment of an injured arm.  Medical staff suspected the injury was not accidental and contacted the Sheriff’s Office for an investigation.

The investigation, which included several interviews and a review of medical records, revealed that the defendant had broken the infant’s arm in a moment of frustration with the infant’s behavior.  The defendant confessed to Detectives about his actions. 

At the Initial Court Appearance, the defendant was released on a $2500 signature bond until his next court date of January 2, 2013.  The infant has been placed in a secure location by Washington County Human Services.

 

 

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