Some 200 FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel took part in simultaneous raids in Milwaukee and Ozaukee Counties Wednesday. Seven people were arrested.

The FBI’s Jason Soule said the raids targeted the top heroin distributors in southeast Wisconsin — the local subset of a national gang known as the Vice Lords.

“This particular group deals in heroin. We significantly disrupted them today. Did we stop it? No, but we’re going to continue to investigate this group,” Soule said. “Their levels of violence ranges from homicides to non-fatal shootings, carjackings, armed robberies.”

The raids followed a year-long investigation of the Vice Lords gang. Two more suspects are still being sought.

Headstones at Madison’s historic Forest Hill Cemetery have been vandalized. An employee notified police Wednesday after finding 36 toppled headstones.

About a dozen, many dating to the late 1800s or early 20th century, were cracked or shattered.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the damage appears random. Graves in the Jewish area of the cemetery, and of Confederate prisoners of war, were untouched.

This was the second act of vandalism at a Wisconsin cemetery in recent weeks. Over 100 stones were damaged over the last weekend in July, at St. Francis Cemetery in Merrill.

Mayor Tom Barrett acknowledges there’s a violent crime problem in Milwaukee. Speaking at a “National Night Out” event Tuesday night, Barrett pointed out that four shooting deaths on Monday began with arguments between people with guns.

“When you have four individuals who have all died in a 24 hour period, and there’s guns involved everywhere, it tells you there’s a problem,” Barett said.

“You are out of your mind if you think using a gun to resolve your dispute is going to do anything other than create more violence,” the mayor said. Barrett spoke at a park where four men were shot and wounded while playing basketball last Saturday.

Milwaukee police said a 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were fatally shot during a Monday night confrontation at an east side park. Swing Park, under the Holton Street Bridge, is a popular daytime attraction, but residents say things frequently get out of hand at night.

Two other men, ages 40 and 23, where shot and killed earlier Monday.

Two men have been convicted in the death of a man who died during a holdup at a Madison restaurant. Court records show Nicholas Ivy and Xavier Fleming both pleaded guilty to being party to felony murder. Other charges against each of the suspects were dismissed but read in.

Ivy and Fleming were arrested in the death of Chris Kneubuehl. Police say Kneubuehl was working at the Culver’s off Todd Drive with other contractors in June of 2017 when Ivy and Fleming robbed the business. Officers say Kneubuehl had a heart attack during the crime and the suspects let him die.

Sentencing for each man is set for November.

WIBA

Two men are in custody for a weekend gas station robbery that was thwarted by a Wausau gas station clerk.

20-year-old Devonte Scoles and 31-year-old Joshua Pregont were arrested shortly after footage of the attempted robbery was released.

The video shows a female clerk shoving Pregont into Scoles, and then both of them out the door together, locking it behind them.

No one was injured and no money was taken. The two men face attempted armed robbery charges.

The state gets some help from the feds, to clean up meth labs. Attorney General Brad Schimel announced Monday that six methamphetamine chemical storage containers will assist local law enforcement with meth lab clean up.

The containers provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will save local law enforcement time and money, and increase safety and security during cleanups.

According to a press release from Schimmel’s office, it’s estimated the containers will on average help reduce cleanup costs by approximately 90 percent. The Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) estimates from 2014 to 2015 meth lab cleanup costs exceeded 235-thousand dollars.

The containers will be placed in Barron, Brown, Dane, Eau Claire, Marathon, and Vernon counties.

Shots were fired inside a downtown Madison radio station early Sunday. A WORT D-J was hit in the buttocks and will be okay. WORT board president David Devereaux-Weber told WKOW-TV that it seemed like a targeted attack. “Someboy who had a beef about something, and we’re not quite sure it it’s a personal issue or a music issue.” Weber said.

There was a shooting in our station this morning. A DJ was hurt but is OK and recovering. We were off the air briefly during the police investigation. We’re back on the air now. https://t.co/qGm2ZE2MSx

— WORT News (@WORTnews) August 5, 2018

Station employees say a masked and hooded man got inside the community-based station at 3:00 a.m. and opened fire. No arrests have been made. A code is needed to enter the building, and Weber said the station is in the process of getting security cameras, but those had not yet been installed.

Robin Mendez has filed a waiver in Oneida County court to give up his right to a jury trial on charges of killing his wife in 1982. WAOW TV reports the waiver was filed Wednesday. A 15-day jury trial was scheduled to begin on April 8th.

Mendez has long maintained his innocence in the case. It’s unclear why he is filing for the waiver. “It is certainly not the norm. We all have the constitutional right to a jury trial,” Mendez’s attorney, Peter Prusinski of Wausau, said Thursday.

A series of motion hearings in the case will now begin on August 13th. Other hearings will be held in November and December, with a final pre-trial conference set for February 7th.

Should Mendez be successful it would leave a judge to decide the case. If the judge and prosecutors cannot agree on having what is called a bench trial, a jury trial would still be held. Online court records still indicate the trial will begin next April.

WSAU

A Fond du Lac Police Officer and a Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Deputy are recovering after being injured taking a battery suspect into custody. Just before 10:30pm Wednesday night, the deputy stopped the suspect vehicle in an effort to detain him until city officers arrived. The 32-year old Portage man then punched the deputy in the face several times before striking another responding officer.

Captain Ryan Waldschmidt says “both the officer and our deputy had numerous head and facial injuries but thankfully with the use of a taser, they were able to subdue the suspect and get him handcuffed and in custody. And then both officers were transported to St.Agnes for treatment. Thankfully both were released from the hospital, but pretty sore and pretty banged up.”

The officer was treated at St. Agnes for a broken elbow and facial injuries – while the deputy was also taken in for head and facial injuries. The suspect faces charges including strangulation, battery, disorderly conduct, and intimidation of a victim for the earlier incident. He was also wanted on two outstanding warrants at the time of his arrest.

KFIZ