A Columbus man accused of causing a drunk-driving crash that killed a Lake Mills firefighter in Monona is free on a signature bond. Investigators say 28-year-old Samuel Cremers’ blood-alcohol level was .08 when he struck Chris Truman on the Beltline Highway on New Year’s Eve. Truman was trying to help two other people whose vehicle was stranded in a snow-storm.

At Cremers’ bail hearing Thursday, Dane County Court Commissioner Jason Hanson explained the signature bond. “That’s because in the event of a conviction later on, there’s pretty high likelihood of incarceration, not to mention the obvious dangers of the behavior that’s allged,” Hanson said. “I also recognize that this is a situation that may be different.”

Drunk-driving charges are possible with blood-alcohol levels below the legal limit, but they are generally tougher to prosecute. Cremers is due back in court on March 7th for his initial appearance. Truman’s funeral is on Sunday, with public visitations throughout the weekend.

WIBA

Melody Gray

A Milwaukee woman accused of trying to shoot a Minnesota state trooper has pleaded guilty to attempted murder. Thirty-year-old Melody Gray was driving a car stolen in Wisconsin when Trooper Mark Peterson pulled her over on Interstate 94 near Moorhead last March.

Gray pointed a handgun at Peterson’s head and tried to pull the trigger.

The gun did not fire, and Peterson then shot Gray in the arm, an action the Clay County Attorney’s Office later concluded was justified. Gray is scheduled to be sentenced on February 25.

Minnesota News Network

New charges are pending against a hit-and-run driver accused in deaths of three Girl Scouts and a parent volunteer. The new, drug related charges against 21 year-old Colton Treu of Chippewa Falls have been filed in Rusk County, and include possession of methamphetamine.

Prosecutors claim Treu was “huffing” when he struck the Girl Scouts as they picked up litter along a Chippewa County road last November.

There were separate charges pending against Treu at the time, from an incident in Septemnber when he drove off the road, and drugs were found in his vehicle. He’s due in court next Tuesday for an initial appearance on the new charges.
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A Madison area nightclub is facing legal trouble following a weekend shooting.

Madison alder David Ahrens says Visions is in jeopardy of losing its liquor license in the aftermath the shooting early Sunday that left four wounded.

Ahrens says there’s been a long history with Visions involving battery and other serious incidents. He’s met with the city attorney on the matter.

Police have arrested the suspect in the shooting. He’s 35-year-old Cole Foster. Foster faces charges of recklessly endangering safety. 

All of the victims are reported to be in stable condition.

An Oneida County woman will be spending 15 years in prison for the death of her toddler stepson.

30-year-old Ellen Tran was convicted in October with first-degree reckless homicide. The boy’s mother spoke for more than an hour at today’s sentencing hearing.

A child.  A toddler. A 20-month-old baby.  She despised him and she hated him.

Tran claimed the boy slipped in the shower, but prosecutors said the abuse was much worse. Judge Patrick O’Melia said he just wished Avery Edwards could have lived in a loving home.

“He would have been safer if just left on somebody’s doorstep.  A stranger would have taken better care of Avery.”

Tran’s ex-husband Trung Tran also faces charges in the case. He’s due back in court in February.

WJFW

Scammers are sending out more targeted email attacks against specific people, in a process known as Spearphishing.

State consumer protection director Michelle Reinen says the scammers specifically target people with the authority to make payments or have access to financial information. One common tactic of the scam is to pose as your boss’s boss.

“The CEO or president of the company asks you to send over some piece of financial information or confirm something, and then you hand over important information for the company.”

Reinen says the scammers will send people in charge of finances phony invoice or bills that need to be paid, while impersonating someone else in the company or organization. 

“We’ve seen it with small towns that end up playing an invoice, and in their small town budget, they don’t necessarily have that money.”

Scammers are looking to capitalize on the idea that you might just blindly fill out an invoice or pay a phony bill without realizing it, she says. 

“Don’t let the busyness of the day help you to fall off guard with these situations, and don’t ever click on links from unsolicited emails.”

She reminds people to always check who’s sending you a mail, and not to get complacent about responding to emails that seem out of the ordinary.

Scammers pretending to be from Social Security have been hounding Wisconsin residents once again. (

State consumer protection spokesman Jerad Albracht says the scammers are using technology to spoof their phone numbers.

“So when you see the call on your phone, it will come up as their 1 800 number, and it might even say ‘Social Security Administration’ on your caller ID.”

The callers have becoming increasingly aggressive in their pitches, and have even threatened to cut off benefits if people don’t provide their personal information.

“They’re going to threaten you, they’re going to claim that your Social Security Number is going to be made inactive, they may threaten that if you don’t give information they may cut off benefits,” says Albracht. 

“They’ll come with any threat they can to try to get you to turn over money or personal information.”

If you get one of these calls, simply hang up. If you’re worried about your benefits, call a trusted, verifiable number for Social Security.

Police at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say they’ve broken up a long-running campus theft ring.

Since the start of the fall semester, more than a dozen thefts were reported at a sports and fitness center next to Camp Randall Stadium.

In many of the cases, suspects got in by asking students entering the building to “sponsor” them. Once inside, the suspects would steal cash, cell phones, laptops, and other valuables.

On Tuesday, U-W police arrested Samuel Spencer of Madison. Spencer is charged with theft and other counts.

Police say Spencer is a known suspect in other theft cases in the City of Madison and across Dane County, and other charges may be coming.