Blue Mounds homicide, East teacher child porn case top recent notable crimes in Madison area
Catch up on these stories on some of the most notable crimes we've covered recently.
Investigators seeking public help in solving homicide of Blue Mounds man
The death of Nicholas Day initially was described as a fatal hit-and-run before the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Day died from “homicidal violence.”
In the days since the Jan. 15 killing, the Dane County Sheriff's Office has made several requests for public help, including specific calls related to people and vehicles seen in the area around the time of the crime.
But they have made no arrests.
Madison East teacher faces charges of using hidden recording devices in Wisconsin, Minnesota
Madison East High School teacher David Kruchten is facing federal child pornography charges in Wisconsin and also has been charged in Minnesota with hiding cameras inside students’ hotel rooms while chaperoning a trip to Minneapolis last year.
Authorities allege he hid cameras in two air freshener cans and a smoke detector in three bathrooms on the eighth floor of the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency downtown.
The Wisconsin federal indictment charges Kruchten with six counts of attempting to produce child pornography involving six different minors on Oct. 27, 2019, and one count of attempting to produce it with a seventh minor on Jan. 20, 2019. He allegedly used hidden devices in those incidents, too.
4 schools locked down after Madison student, parent injured in targeted shooting on East Side, authorities say
A parent and a child were injured Wednesday morning in what Madison police believe was a targeted shooting on the East Side.
Several people called 911 shortly before 7 a.m. to report hearing multiple gunshots near the intersection of North Lawn Avenue and Dahle Street, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.
Detectives determined the shooter exited the passenger seat of a getaway car and fired numerous shots into the victims’ car, which had stopped at the intersection, DeSpain said.
To read the full story, go here.
Sub-Zero employee shot at when tailing suspicious trio fleeing company lot, Fitchburg police say
A Sub-Zero employee was shot at when tailing a suspicious trio fleeing the company parking lot Thursday night, Fitchburg police said.
A spent shell casing was located at the scene, but the employee was not injured and no property damage was found, Sgt. Pete Johnston said.
To read the full story, go here.
Driver dies, 3 passengers injured in rollover crash in Rock County, authorities say
Authorities have identified the driver who died in a rollover crash Monday night in Rock County that also injured three passengers.
The Rock County Medical Examiner’s Department said in a statement that the driver was Sterling H. M. Espinoza, 20, of Whitewater.
The driver was not wearing a seat belt, but the three passengers were wearing seat belts, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Authorities identify man killed in Highway 14 crash that also injured woman, 3 children
Authorities have identified the man killed in a crash that also injured a woman and three children Wednesday in the town of Black Earth as Steven L. Walton, 26, of Mazomanie.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said Saturday that a forensic examination determined that Walton, who was pronounced dead at the scene, died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
To read the full story, go here.
‘I thought I was gonna die’: Woman driver has gun pointed at her from adjacent car on West Side, Madison police say
A 49-year-old Madison woman told police she thought she was going to die when a passenger in another car pointed a gun at her on the West Side on Thursday night, Madison police reported.
"I was so scared. I thought I was gonna die," she told police after the incident at South Gammon Road and Mineral Point Road about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a statement.
To read the full story, go here.
Madison woman arrested for drunken driving after East Side crash that severely injured passenger, police say
A Madison woman was arrested for drunken driving after an East Side crash that broke her leg and severely injured a passenger, Madison police reported.
A witness told police that he and other motorists were stopped for a red light at East Johnson Street and North First Street shortly after midnight when a Mercedes Benz came speeding up from behind. The witness said the driver of that car was about to rear-end one of the stopped cars, but swerved at the last moment, striking a traffic light and extensively damaging the car, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a statement.
To read the full story, go here.
Judge finds woman culpable in boyfriend's beating death, sets 7-year prison sentence
Finding that the beating death of a town of Dane man in 2018 would not have happened except for the things she did to put events in motion, a Dane County judge sentenced a Lodi woman Friday to seven years in prison.
Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford said while McKayla R. Tracy, 21, did not intend for her boyfriend, Dalton D. Ziegler, to die at the hands of two men called to Ziegler’s home by Tracy, “it resulted from conduct Miss Tracy put into motion” and did nothing to stop.
To read the full story, go here.
Man, 4 teens arrested after police use stop sticks on fleeing stolen vehicle on Beltline, Monona police say
A man and four teens were arrested after police used stop sticks on a fleeing stolen vehicle on the Beltline early Tuesday morning, Monona police reported.
Monona officers were in the area of West Broadway and the Beltline monitoring Dane County radio traffic shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday when they heard that a Dane County Sheriff’s Office deputy was pursuing a stolen GMC Acadia eastbound on the Beltline at high speed, Chief Walter J. Ostrenga said in a statement.
To read the full story, go here.
Marcus Randle El, 33, was charged Friday in Rock County Court with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two other counts.
Marcus Randle El, 33, of Homewood, Illinois, turned himself in on Saturday afternoon to Chicago police and is expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide when he is returned to Wisconsin, Janesville police said.
Officers found the victim, believed to be an adult male, in the 100 block of North Blair Street about 3:45 p.m. Saturday after receiving a report that a person had been shot.
