A Crandon woman is caught trying to flee to Mexico after skipping a sentencing hearing.

Police in Laredo, Texas say they caught 53-year-old Patricia Kirker trying to cross over into Mexico over the weekend.

She had been scheduled for a sentencing hearing on multiple drug convictions last week, but never showed up. She’s now being held in Texas, waiting extradition back to Forest County.

Kirker is also on trial for 161 charges in a separate animal abuse case.

File this one under “you just don’t get that kind of honesty nowadays.”

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s office says an unidentified 36-year-old Merrill man turned himself in for his first OWI offense over the weekend.

The man showed up at the Sheriff’s office to report his crashed vehicle near State Road 107 and Swede Road, then asked to be arrested for the OWI.

He said he flagged down a passing car shortly after the crash and asked to be taken to the Sheriff’s office to report the incident. It’s unclear if the man was seriously injured in the accident.

WSAU

Columbia County prosecutors say a truck driver who slammed into a school bus was on drugs at the time.  Twenty-six people on that bus were hurt, with five suffering critical injuries.

A group  of eighth-graders from a Milwaukee area school were on a field trip to the Wisconsin Dells.

Wayne Murphy, 42, was working for North Dakota-based Dahl Trucking when he caused the accident on Interstate 39. He’s been in the Columbia County Jail since May 23rd.

WRN

More restrictions and supervision are coming to Wisconsin’s troubled youth detention centers.

According to the Journal Sentinel, civil rights groups and the state have come to a settlement over a series of abuses against youth inmates at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake.

“While biggest step forward for youth is the closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, today’s settlement is also an important win,” said Jessica Feierman, Associate Director of Juvenile Law Center. “The agreement establishes crucial safeguards against the harms of solitary confinement, restraints, pepper spray, and strip searches.”

Under the proposed guidelines, solitary confinement will be banned, officers won’t use pepper spray on inmates, and restraints will only be used in extreme situations. Inmates also won’t be subject to strip searches without probable cause.

“This is a major step in the right direction for Wisconsin and the protection of children in the custody of the state,” said Timothy Muth, staff attorney of ACLU of Wisconsin. “We hope this settlement and the closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake signals a larger shift in Wisconsin’s juvenile justice system toward an approach that recognizes the unique needs and vulnerabilities of youth and respects their constitutional rights. We’ll need to remain vigilant to ensure that shift comes to fruition.”

An outside auditor will also come in to inspect the schools on a regular basis.

The new changes will also affect a series of newly proposed youth facilities.

An Almond man is facing a 14th drunk driving charge.

Police say 64-year-old Daniel Nordell failed a sobriety test after he crashed his car into a mailbox, a street sign and a utility pole May 24th.

A preliminary test placed his blood alcohol content at .17 which is nine times the limit in place for repeat OWI offenders.

Nordell’s last OWI conviction was in 2006 in Waupaca County, when he was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision, court records said. His OWI convictions date back to 1994.

The complaint said Nordell was convicted of OWI four times in 1994, twice in 1995, once in 1998, three times in 1999 and twice in 2002 before the 2006 conviction.

Nordell is in the Waupaca County jail on a 25 thousand dollar cash bond.

WSAU

A Milwaukee County jury has found a 19-year-old man guilty of felony murder in the 2017 killing of a city inspector. Jurors determined Deshaun Scott used a shotgun to murder 64-year-old Greg “Ziggy” Zyszkiewicz during a carjacking.

Scott is to be sentenced July 30th.

Prosecutors had told the court Zyszkiewicz was killed with a shotgun last March, sitting in his car while he was working. Scott had been charged with first-degree reckless homicide with a dangerous weapon, but he was convicted on the lesser charge of felony murder.

Scott’s lawyer Michael Plaisted says the jury got it right. “The state could not prove that he was the shooter,” Plaisted said. “It is sad, but it is an appropriate decision that the jury made.”

A very determined burglar has struck again, breaking through the outer wall of a Best Buy to steal merchandise.

This time it happened in Greenfield. Sergeant Eric Lindstrom says they do have video footage of a man dressed in dark clothing wearing mask who made it into the store.

“If you happen to recognize the subject in the video, the clothes that he’s wearing, the way that he walks, any of those things, please feel free to contact the Greenfield Police department.”

This is similar to an incident earlier this month in Marathon County, where a burglar broke through the back wall of a Best Buy and walked off with $15,000 worth of merchandise. This is a crime that takes planning, and Lindstrom says someone probably knows something.

“It’s definitely possible the suspect has spoken to someone about their intentions, the manner of which they were going to get into the store, or possibly bragged about it after the fact,” says Lindstrom. “So we’d definitely like to hear that information if you’ve heard it.”

If you have information, call Greenfield Police at 414-761-5300.

Greenfield Best Buy damage

A Wisconsin Rapids man is headed to trial on charges that he spiked a woman’s water with an abortion drug.

Online records show that 33-year-old Jeffrey Smith waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child and delivery of prescription drugs

Police say Smith was upset that the woman would not agree to get an abortion even though Smith didn’t want the child.

Smith allegedly crushed up a Mifepristone pill in a bottle of water the unidentified woman was drinking from when she wasn’t looking. The woman noticed the residue in the water and turned it over to police the next day. She did not drink from it after discovering the residue.

A search of Smith’s apartment turned up blister packs of a different drug used to induce labor, Misoprostol. Text messages sent by Smith to the woman encouraging her to end the pregnancy were also discovered.

Trial dates have not been set, and Smith has not entered a plea on the charges.

WSAU