MONROE — A Monroe man caught rifling through cars and entering a residential garage in Monroe last April has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, to run concurrent to a sentence out of Richland County for his role in a traffic crash that injured a family of six.
Jaron D. Luebke, aka Jaron D. Neuenschwander-Luebke, 27, pleaded no contest March 5 in Green County Circuit Court to two counts of felony bail jumping, with numerous other charges including burglary and theft dismissed.
He’s ordered to spend 18 months on extended supervision after he gets out of prison.
On Feb. 12, he pleaded guilty in Richland County to knowingly driving with a revoked license causing great bodily injury, a felony, with related charges dismissed but “read in,” meaning the judge could consider them at sentencing. Two of the “read in” charges were felony counts of causing injury by use of a vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood.
The Richland County case stems from a January 2019 traffic crash just east of Richland Center. According to police, Luebke lost control of the van he was driving while negotiating a downhill curve, crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a mini-van. A couple and their four children in the mini-van were injured in the accident, as was Luebke.
The Green County charges against Luebke stem from two arrests in Monroe in the months following the accident, according to court records.
In the early morning hours of April 6, a resident in the 2300 block of 11th Avenue called 911 after hearing a loud “bang” and seeing someone run out of his garage.
An investigation found Luebke had tried to drive the resident’s 2008 Ford F150 but only managed to back it into the garage door and knock over a lawn sweeper. When the truck’s alarm went off, Luebke ran away. He left behind his cellphone and some other items from his pockets, along with a puddle of urine.
Officers happened to be in the neighborhood and one found Luebke nearby rifling through unlocked vehicles parked in driveways and along the street in the area. He smelled strongly of alcohol and was swaying.
“It was me, dude,” Luebke told the officer. “I’m drunk. Take me to jail, dude.”
When the officer asked Luebke how his property ended up in the garage, Luebke answered, “Me and my property went into the garage,” adding “Guilty as charged.”
Luebke also admitted to urinating on the garage floor. His blood-alcohol concentration tested at 0.203%, more than two and a half times the legal limit for driving.
He was jailed and later released on a $25,000 signature bond with conditions including no drinking, bars or liquor stores.
On July 21, Luebke was again arrested after an officer on patrol noticed him just before bar time outside a tavern in the 1300 block of 17th Street. He had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.177%.