Green County
Felonies
● Steven Hartwell Cotter, 24, Darlington, was charged Feb. 21 with a Class D felony count of child enticement, a Class I felony count of exposing genitals to a child and a misdemeanor charge of sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older. The criminal complaint indicates he had sex with a 16-year-old girl several times in 2018, including at a Monroe motel where he gave her flavored vodka and “kept trying to have” her drink more. The girl told police she later blocked him on Snapchat because he was “constantly sending her messages to the point of harassment” and had been harassing her friends. Cotter denied everything to a detective but when the detective said he had seen Cotter’s Facebook Messenger chat history, “Steven dropped his head and began to look at the floorboard” of the squad car, the detective reported. Cotter signed a $2,000 signature bond March 16 with conditions including no possession of firearms or dangerous weapons and no contact with anyone younger than 18 except immediate family.
● Amy C. Carter, 54, Brodhead, pleaded no contest Feb. 27 to a Class G felony charge of theft in a business setting, with a felony charge of misappropriating ID info and a misdemeanor charge of issuing a worthless check dismissed but “read in.” She was sentenced to three years on probation with a conditional six-month jail sentence withheld. The criminal complaint indicates she misappropriated money to herself while appointed temporary guardian of her mother’s estate between July 2016 and March 2018 and in August 2017 wrote a worthless check in the amount of $4,668 to the nursing home where her mother was living.
● Ryan Michael Flood, 43, Albany, pleaded no contest Feb. 27 to two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of battery, all misdemeanors, and was sentenced to 18 months on probation. He’s ordered to undergo AODA treatment and counseling and pay $1,329 in court assessments while on probation. The case stems from a series of domestic incidents in August. The criminal complaint indicates Flood jumped on a woman’s back to try to get a phone from her during one argument. Officers later located Flood sitting in a bar in Albany, where he blew a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.239% in a breathalyzer test, more than three times the legal limit for driving. In a victim impact statement to the court in October, the woman wrote that Flood “made me realize how I’m not willing to be treated.” She added that she didn’t have any concerns over her safety or the safety and security of her children with Flood. “Being arrested made him realize how dumb his choices have been. He hasn’t drank at all since being arrested and he’s a much better and more interactive father to the kids,” she wrote.
● David George Kostka, 80, Juda, was charged March 3 with felony counts of false imprisonment and intimidation of a victim with use or attempted use of force, stemming from an incident Feb. 1 at his home. The criminal complaint indicates officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance between Kostka and a woman after a dispatcher heard voices on a 911 call saying “I promised myself you will never restrain me again” and “I want you to promise you won’t call the police” and “I want to leave, I need to leave.” The woman told police Kostka prevented her from leaving the home by shoving her with his elbow and it had happened before but she didn’t want him arrested, she just wanted him “talked to” and for his behavior to stop. Kostka told police he tried to keep her from leaving because he wanted them to resolve their argument. The officers explained the arrest was mandatory under domestic abuse laws. Kostka signed a $1,000 signature bond March 9 with the condition that he have no abusive or violent contact with the woman.