Green County
Misdemeanors
● Roger Matthew Blum, 50, Monroe, pleaded no contest Jan. 10 to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing. Related charges including misdemeanor battery were dismissed. He was sentenced to one year on probation, with conditions that he remain compliant with prescribed medications and seek any recommended counseling. He is eligible to have his convictions expunged. The charges stem from three incidents at a home the 500 block of West 21st Street in Monroe in July and November. Court records indicate his mother called police to report his violent and drug-related or mental health-related behavior, including punching her, threats toward her and a threat to kill her cat.
● Alexander Emilio Guevara, 26, New Glarus, pleaded no contest Jan. 17 to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and battery, downgraded from a felony charge of substantial battery. He was sentenced to two years on probation, with conditions that he complete anger management counseling and treatment for alcohol or other drug abuse. He owes $1,086 in court assessments. The case stems from a domestic dispute Aug. 13 in New Glarus. Court records indicate a woman called 911 and said Guevara shoved her and hit and kicked her in the head in an argument over her cellphone use.
Lafayette County
Felonies
● Gregory L. Wilhite, 46, Monroe, was charged March 27 with a Class H felony count of transferring personal property with intent to defraud. A warrant is issued for his arrest. Court records indicate Wilhite sold a blue 2003 Ford F150 truck for $900 on Facebook Marketplace on July 30. The purchaser tried to title the truck but discovered the title had been tampered with, still had a lien of about $4,900 and a repossession order had been issued on the vehicle.
● Austin James Penniston, 38, Argyle, was charged March 27 with a Class H felony count of child abuse. His has signed a $2,000 signature bond with conditions that he have no direct or indirect contact with minor children. The case stems from an investigation into an incident March 7 in Penniston’s home on South State Street in Argyle. Court records indicate Penniston punched his 12-year-old son in the chest and back with a closed fist, kicked him in the stomach and repeatedly slapped him in the head. The boy told police his father “beat him up” for not having rice cooked for dinner and told him “once you’re 13, I can start beating you.” The boy’s younger sister told police their father hits them both and this was worst beating she had ever seen her brother endure. Penniston told police he “open fist slapped” his son and “would do it again.”
Green County
Felonies
● Joshua Brian Hopkins, 30, Madison, posted a $5,000 cash bond April 22 on a Class B felony charge of first-degree child sexual assault involving a child younger than 13 and a Class C felony charge of repeated sexual assault of the same child. The charges were filed against Hopkins with an arrest warrant in December 2016, but he was living in Kentucky at the time. He was taken into custody in February. He also signed a $50,000 signature bond with conditions that he have no contact with the alleged victim, their family, an address in rural Albany or anyone under the age of 18 except as approved and supervised. He has a pre-trial conference May 21. The case stems from allegations that he repeatedly had sex with a girl starting when she was 12 years old and he was seven years her senior. In 2017, his mother wrote a letter to the court that the allegations against her son were false and were constructed as leverage in a battle over child custody and support.