Local News Briefs Tuesday 9/30/14

Two fatal accidents in Fond du Lac County over the weekend may have had one factor in common. Sheriff’s Captain Rick Olig says the County Coroner is looking at whether both men who died from injuries suffered in the accident may have suffered a medical condition prior to it. He says 63-year-old Patrick Pichette of Green Bay was with a group of veterans on a ride Friday afternoon when his motorcycle crashed off of Highway TC. He says the group of 12 riders had met up in Oshkosh, traveled to Mayville to visit a gravesite and were on their way to another when the accident happened. Olig says where the accident happened was a curve, but it’s pretty wide open and Pichette wasn’t speeding. The second accident Sunday morning on Highway 49 involved 62-year-old Gary Masemore of West Bend who had been through the area before. He was wildlife photographer who was coming back from a shoot. He died at Waupun Memorial Hospital. He wasn’t buckled up when his car went off the road.

FDL Shooting Update

An argument apparently led to a shooting at a Fond du Lac residence early Sunday morning in the 300 block of North Seymour Street. Assistant Police Chief Steve Klein says witnesses have not been cooperative and they do not have a suspect in custody. A man was found lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the leg when police arrived at the scene. He was taken to St. Agnes Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department and City Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Investigation Continues In Berlin Double Homicide

A person of interest in a double homicide in Berlin has been released after questioning. However that man remains a person of interest in the shooting deaths of Melissa Tunistra and Justin Daniels who were both 28-years-old. Their bodies were found late Saturday night in the 200 block of Broadway Street. She was found outside her apartment and he was found inside it. Police found her 8-year-old daughter after issuing an Amber Alert Sunday morning. The girl was not in the apartment when the murders occurred, but was staying with her grandparents. Berlin Police are continuing their investigation and ask anyone who might have information to contact them.

Washington County Armed Robbery

Washington County Sheriff’s officials are investigating an armed robbery that occurred at the Last Stop Saloon in the Town of Germantown early Monday morning. A 27-year-old Hartford man was leaving the bar when he was forced back into it by a group of men wearing masks and carrying firearms. They then confronted the bartender a 21-year-old Hartford woman. Several of the suspects went into an adjacent apartment where they woke a 32-year-old man, 21-year-old woman and a 4-year-old child. The establishment was ransacked and an undetermined amount of cash was taken. The victims were taken to the basement where several of them were tied up. The suspects then fled from the scene. No one was hurt. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Department at 262-335-4378.

Former Police Officer Pleads In Barron County Court

A former Waupun police officer entered into a plea agreement last Friday in one of the four counties he is facing charges in connection with an extensive crime spree. Bradley Young appeared in a Barron County courtroom where he entered a guilty plea to a felony car theft charge and felony fleeing an officer charge was read into the record and dismissed. He will be sentenced on December 17th. Most of Young’s alleged crimes took place in a two-day period in August of last year.  He is also facing charges in Green Lake, Burnett and Waushara Counties. He will make his initial appearance in Waushara County Court this Thursday. Young was a lieutenant with the Waupun Police Department when he resigned a year ago after more than 22 years with the department. 

Naked Home Invasion Suspect Bound Over For Trial

The 26-year-old Fond du Lac man who entered homes this summer while naked has been bound over for trial. Lucas Leffel is charged with three counts of Burglary to a Dwelling and four counts of 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of an Unconscious Victim.  He will be arraigned on October 8th.  According to court documents he entered the homes to touch sleeping women for his own sexual gratification. In each case he entered the home through an unlocked door. In one case the home was that of a police officer who chased him out and down a street before he got away. The four home invasions on the southeast side of the City began in late June and ended on August 8th.  

NFDL Man Arraigned On Identity Theft Charges

A 47-year-old North Fond du Lac man charged identity theft was recently bound over for trial and arraigned on 52 felony counts for allegedly using someone else’s credit cards to make purchases at convenience stores. Kevin Emerich had a preliminary hearing in Fond du Lac County Court and was then arraigned he pled not guilty to all 52 felony counts of misappropriation of ID information to obtain money or essentially identity theft. According to police he used two stolen cards he allegedly stole to make more than $8,000 worth of purchases. He’s currently serving time at Kettle Moraine Correctional for battery.

Oakfield Woman Sentenced For Relationship With Inmate

(WBEV-Beaver Dam)-A former corrections officer at a Waupun prison was recently sentenced in Dodge County Court to seven months in jail for having a relationship with an inmate. Andrea Teschendorf previously pled to a felony count of 2nd Degree Sexual Assault by Correctional Staff and had a misdemeanor obstruction charge dismissed. The 40-year-old Oakfield woman admitted to the relationship in an interview with detectives saying she knew it was wrong but could not stop. Teschendorf faces the same charge in Fond du Lac County court where she has a status conference scheduled next month.

Voter Photo ID Slogan State It, Show It, Sign It

You will need a photo ID on Tuesday, November 4th to vote the way it stands today. A driver’s license or state photo ID will both work. Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg says you will start seeing TV ads about the process for voting with photo ID, which begins at polls with you stating your name and address. She says the ad campaign’s slogan is “State it, Show It, Sign it” meaning you will also have to show your photo ID and sign the poll book too before you get your ballot. She also points out that if you’re voting absentee you will still have to show your ID by sending in a photo copy of your driver’s license or state photo ID. She says to make sure your driver’s license or state photo ID is up to date with your name and current address.

A New Category Of Street Repairs

Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says they hope to repair some streets in 2015 that they normally wouldn’t get to. Skiff says typically the streets they repair need maintenance such as crack sealing, chip sealing or mill and overlay work. Another category is the streets they categorize as needing sewer repair work to eliminate the infiltration of Clearwater during heavy rains. He says a third category is streets in poor shape, but the sewers are in good shape underneath. He says Ellis Street would be one of those streets. He says the stretch from 1st to 8th Street particularly needs work. Skiff says they hope to include money in next year’s budget to take care of those types of streets that need repair.

FDL School District Pumps Up Social Media Presence

Fond du Lac Schools Superintendent Jim Sebert says they continue to work on their presence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. He says they are also retooling the district website, which he says is something that may be overdue. He says they have a lot of wonderful things going on in the district and social media is one way of publicizing that. The district used their Twitter page well during homecoming week last week. Sebert says they have nearly 1,500 followers now.

Understanding Socioeconomic Inequality Focus Of Educational Conference At UW-FDL

The UW-Fond du Lac will be hosting a free conference “Understanding Socioeconomic Inequality” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 16th. UW-Fond du Lac Dean John Short says they are part of effort along with Marian University, Moraine Park Technical College, Ripon College called the Higher Education Diversity Initiative Team that collaborates on events supporting diversity and inclusion. Students and staff from those institutions and members of the Fond du Lac County community are invited to attend. The keynote speaker is Terie Dreussi-Smith, co-author of “Bridges Out of Poverty; Strategies for Professionals and Communities.” The workshop will focus on frameworks for better understanding poverty and the hidden rules of economic class. There is no fee for the workshop but advance registration is required online at www.marianuniversity.edu/hedit.   Bussing from Ripon College and Marian University is provided and information can be found during online registration.