Motorcyclist and protester clash, stolen tree top recent notable crime news in Madison area
Catch up on these stories on some of the most notable crime news we've covered recently.
UW-Madison investigating after video shows employee on motorcycle drive through group of protesters
UW-Madison is investigating after an employee was seen in a video posted on social media driving his motorcycle through a group of protesters Friday on Capitol Square, the day supporters of President Donald Trump and counter-protesters clashed on the square.
One of the counter-protesters said at least three from the group were hit, with injuries including bruising, pulled tendons and a burn from the exhaust pipe. One had his foot run over.
Police stumped by theft of large, rare pine tree from UW Arboretum
Unlike the more populated parts of Madison, the UW Arboretum is not blanketed with surveillance cameras, and presumably it doesn’t have its own Lorax to speak for the trees.
So UW-Madison officials are seeking the public’s help in finding whoever went into the Arboretum between Nov. 5 and Monday, cut down and carted away a rare, 25-foot-tall Algonquin Pillar Swiss Mountain pine tree, and cut off a 12-foot section of a Compact White Fir tree but left it on the ground.
Defendant in Blue Mounds homicide again incompetent, will again receive treatment
A Mount Horeb man charged with the death last year of a Blue Mounds man was again found incompetent to stand trial, just a month after it was determined mental health treatment had returned him to competency.
Riley L. Berg, 22, who was charged with the Jan. 15 slaying of Nicholas Day, 26, was returned to the Dane County Jail after he was treated at Mendota Mental Health Institute, where he had been sent after being found incompetent to assist in his defense in April.
Pedestrian hit by car on North Side suffers broken leg, internal injuries, Madison police say
The 30-year-old man was struck shortly before 11 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Northport Drive and Dryden Drive, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a statement.
His injuries were considered life threatening, police said.
Deputies injured stopping suicide attempt by jail inmate, Dane County Sheriff’s Office says
Two deputies were injured stopping a suicide attempt by a jail inmate Sunday morning, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The 30-year-old male inmate had been exhibiting self-harm behavior prior to the incident about 6 a.m. in the City-County Building facility of the Dane County Jail , Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Elise Schaffer said in a statement.
The inmate was treated for his self-inflicted injuries by jail medical staff and jail mental health professionals were notified, Schaffer said.
Madison man arrested in Monday night hotel shooting
A 24-year-old man has been arrested in the shooting late Monday night of a 30-year-old man at a town of Middleton hotel, police reported.
Deonta A. Gaines, of Madison, was booked into the Dane County Jail on Tuesday night on tentative charges of first-degree attempted homicide and first-degree reckless injury after police executed a search warrant at 26 Park Heights Court on Madison's Southwest side, Dane County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Elise Schaffer said in a statement.
Former Midwest Horse Fair director convicted of thefts, sentenced to probation
Rhonda Reese, the former executive director of the Midwest Horse Fair, was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation after she pleaded no contest to five misdemeanors and a felony stemming from her embezzlement of nearly $239,000 from the organization over more than five years.
The plea agreement, entered at a hearing held by video in Columbia County Circuit Court, was a vast reduction from the 41 counts of fraudulent writings by a corporation officer and 20 counts of theft in a business setting that she originally faced after being charged in January 2018.
'Chaotic' fight causes woman to jump out of car as windshield breaks, then car runs over her
A "chaotic" fight between two men Wednesday afternoon led to a woman jumping out of a car fearing for her safety, but the car ended up rolling over her legs, Madison police said.
The two men, 26-year-old Samuel J. Scott and 49-year-old Fabian N. Zepeda, both with no permanent addresses, began fighting on the 600 block of Mayfair Avenue at around 4:10 p.m. Wednesday, Madison police spokesperson Joel DeSpain said.
Complaint: Argument over furniture arrangement led to attempted stabbing homicide
An argument that started over the arrangement of living room furniture at a town of Albion home led to a stabbing for which a rural Edgerton man was charged Thursday with attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
The incident Tuesday night began, the victim told police, when he and Mathew D. Webb, 19, argued about the placement of a sofa in the living room of a home on Lake Court in rural Edgerton, and the fact that Webb had been evicted from the home and really had no say over the sofa’s location, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court.
Dane County DA's Office says no criminal liability for Monona officer in Madison man's death
A Monona police officer will not face criminal charges after a Madison man he was pursuing died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after crashing his vehicle in September, the Dane County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said in a statement there is “no potential criminal court liability” for the officer involved in the death of 24-year-old Elliot Johnson after the Sept. 17 chase that started in Monona and ended in Madison around 11 p.m. Based on investigation findings, it is “clear” the officer did not use deadly force and Johnson’s death “could only have been caused” by Johnson himself, Ozanne said.
The day started off with a number of challenges from the Trump campaign.
"This is going to be for the courts to decide," said Republican elections commissioner Dean Knudson.
The case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday contends Gov. Tony Evers' recent actions to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic are an overreach.
"We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks," Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said.
An investigator with the state Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles uncovered more than $4 million in fraudulent vehicle titles, earning a national award for his work, DOT announced Tuesday.
Pocan tested negative once after his exposure, but plans to get tested again this week.
