Green County
Felonies
• Craig O. Albright, 47, Lansing, Michigan, was charged June 6 with one Class I felony count of failure to pay child support for 120 days or longer. A warrant is issued for his arrest.
• Andrew S. Bristol, 29, address unknown, was charged June 6 with one Class I felony count of failure to pay child support for 120 days or longer. A warrant is issued for his arrest.
• Hector Manuel Guerra, 45, address unknown, was charged June 6 with one Class I felony count of failure to pay child support for 120 days or longer. A warrant is issued for his arrest.
• Milton Scott Andros, 57, Warrenton, Oregon, signed a $2,000 signature bond Aug. 28 on two Class I felony counts of failure to pay child support for 120 days or longer, filed June 6. He has a pre-trial conference Dec. 4.
• Christopher James Fillner, 47, Milton, formerly of Albany, stood mute Aug. 8 on a Class I felony charge of possessing methamphetamine and misdemeanor charges of possessing THC and drug paraphernalia, stemming from a search warrant served on his residence June 12 by the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT). According to court records, he admitted to being the owner of marijuana and a crystal substance found during the search. He has a status conference Oct. 18.
• Cody Allen Kirschbaum, 30, Brodhead, has a preliminary hearing Sept. 14 on a Class I felony count of delivering illegal articles to an inmate, filed July 2. Court records indicate Kirschbaum smuggled wintergreen-flavored tobacco chew into the Green County Jail in April and gave it to a fellow inmate, later admitting as much when confronted. An officer noticed a “strong smell of wintergreen” coming from a cell and located 11 packets of chew. The officer suspected Kirschbaum because he had Huber work-release privileges, a history of bringing loose tobacco, rolling papers, matches and a strike strip into the jail and had been overheard talking about contraband in phone calls. The recipient of the chew told officers Kirschbaum “owed him soup” and had given him the chew as payment.
• Jennifer Lynn Kitelinger, 35, Monroe, stood mute Aug. 8 on two Class H felony counts of battery or threat to a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting or obstructing an officer. The case stems from an incident July 25. According to court records, a Monroe Police officer responded to a call in the 1000 block of 17th Street around 2:30 a.m. to find Kitelinger intoxicated and in a dispute with family members. When the officer tried to restrain her, Kitelinger kicked and bit him. She has a pre-trial conference Sept. 18.
• Matthew David Schupbach, 34, Janesville, signed a $3,000 signature bond Aug. 1 on a Class I felony count of substantial battery and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, stemming from an incident July 28 in the W100 block of Halfway Tree Road near County T in rural Brodhead. In police records, witnesses at Sand Burr Restaurant reported seeing a woman being punched and dragged into a vehicle after it initially stopped in the middle of the highway. People who saw the woman told police her face was swollen beyond recognition. A friend of the woman said Schupbach had previously threatened to run the woman over with a vehicle and that the pair left their previous location before flagging down a motorist to call 911. However, later the woman denied being hit and said she tripped in her flip-flops while intoxicated and fell into a car’s side mirror. She told police that the witnesses “need to mind their own business.” Conditions of Schupbach’s bond, pending future court dates, include no alcohol or going into bars or liquor stores and no contact with the woman except through a third party for child custody exchanges.
• Evan Kyle Stiegert, 27, Milwaukee, signed a $2,000 signature bond Aug. 20 on two Class H counts of false imprisonment and misdemeanor charges of battery, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia. The charges stem from an incident at the Chalet Landhaus Inn in New Glarus. According to police records, Stiegert and a woman were staying in a room at the inn July 8. Officers responded to a call from management just before 3:30 a.m. about two people arguing and reports of a female cursing and yelling at someone to “back up.” Officers found the window in the room damaged and were informed the woman had left on foot. When police spoke with her, she said the couple was in town for a wedding. She explained that she had returned to the room early and woke up to Stiegert, intoxicated, yelling through the window from outside before breaking the frame and entering the room through the window. She said he punched her before preventing her from leaving the room. Conditions of Stiegert’s bond, pending future court dates, include no alcohol, controlled substances or abusive or violent contact with the woman.
• Lisa Marie Valentin, 44, Monroe, signed a $1,500 signature bond Aug. 8 on a Class I felony count of substantial battery and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. She has a preliminary hearing Sept. 24. The charges stem from a physical altercation Aug. 6 at a Monroe residence. A man told police Valentin stabbed him in the calf and threatened to kill him, holding knives to his throat and groin area, then took off on foot, telling him she was going to turn herself in. The man’s wound required five stitches at the Monroe Clinic ER after Green County EMS responded to the scene. When Valentin turned herself in at the Monroe Police Department, she said he had actually threatened to kill her children and that she threatened him with knives to protect herself and escaped through a window for her own safety. She claimed the stabbing was accidental, in that she reached blindly for something to hit him with while he was holding her down on a table and she grabbed his pocket knife.
• Daria Lynn Beutel, 25, Browntown, signed a $1,000 signature bond Aug. 27 on a felony charge of bail jumping and misdemeanor counts of bail jumping and driving with a revoked license. She has a pre-trial conference Sept. 18. The charges stem from an incident July 21. According to police reports, an officer on duty saw her at a gas station in Monroe putting fuel into a car with expired plates, and when he ran a background check, he discovered her license was revoked and driving broke her bond on a prior case. The officer reported that she was cooperative when confronted and he released her from custody pending court since she had an infant with special needs with her in the car and the baby needs her ongoing care.
• Alexander Emilio Guevara, 25, New Glarus, signed a $2,500 signature bond Aug. 16 on a Class I felony charge of substantial battery and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, stemming from a domestic dispute Aug. 13 in New Glarus. Court records indicate a woman called 911 and said Guevara had kicked her in the head, and when police arrived, she was outside the home on the sidewalk holding a towel to her head. Both she and Guevara had been drinking, and she said an argument over her cellphone use turned physical and he shoved and insulted her before hitting her in the head twice. He claimed it was self-defense and that he was trying to prevent her from kicking and scratching him, but a responding officer noted that Guevara did not have any visible marks on him except red knuckles and a bloodied hand. Conditions of his bond include no alcohol, bars or liquor stores and no contact with the woman. He has a preliminary hearing Sept. 19.
• Allen Michael Carstensen, 26, Belmont, Iowa, was charged Aug. 24 with a Class I felony count of failure to pay child support for 120 days or longer. A warrant is issued for his arrest.
• Mark J. Bertucci Jr., 31, address unknown, was charged Sept. 6 with seven Class I felony counts of failure to pay child support for 120 days or longer between 2012 and 2018. A warrant is issued for his arrest.
Christopher Ronald Phillips, 28, Brodhead, was charged June 7 with a Class F felony count of burglary and Class H felony count of theft. Pleas of not guilty are entered to both counts and he has a pre-trial conference Sept. 18. Court records indicate Phillips stole from residents at Wood’s Crossing Nursing Home in Brodhead while employed there in January and February, including about $100 in cash. The case came to the attention of police in March after a resident’s son reported a $100 Piggly Wiggly gift card and change missing from his 85-year-old mother’s belongings. The gift card was used to buy five steaks, three bags of shrimp and two energy drinks. The manager at the Piggly Wiggly told police that surveillance video showed a younger white man with his head covered making the purchase, but the video was overwritten. Other employees at the nursing home reported seeing Phillips act suspiciously by being in residents’ rooms when the residents weren’t there. When confronted by police, Phillips admitted to using the Piggly Wiggly card but denied stealing anything.
• Marcus Jordan Phiffer, 22, Monroe, was charged June 20 with felony counts of substantial battery and strangulation and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, battery and bail jumping. His preliminary hearing is Oct. 15. The charges stem from two incidents, both involving alcohol, which police determined violated his bond in prior cases. The first incident happened at about 3 a.m. May 13 in the 1500 block of 8th Street in Monroe. Court records indicate Phiffer was drinking with others when a man told him to quiet down and Phiffer responded by punching him, shoving him into a door and breaking the screen. The victim’s mother had to stand between them to keep Phiffer from hitting him again. The victim had lacerations and gashes on his head. After police were called, Phiffer ran a few blocks away to his residence and made threats over the phone to another person. On June 5, he reportedly assaulted a 19-year-old woman after coming home drunk at 3:30 a.m. with another man: he woke her up, dragged her out of bed and demanded she make them food, and when she refused, they fought and ended up in a physical altercation before she agreed to make food; he then threw the food and choked her with both hands, dragged her to the door and pushed her outside, causing her head to hit the door jam.
• Donald Tiberius David Pitman, 19, Winslow, was charged June 29 with two counts of felony bail jumping and two misdemeanor counts of theft. Court records indicate that in May he conspired with Dustin Mark Paul Raab, 20, Apple River, Illinois, to steal a Nook tablet and other items from a Town of Cadiz resident who let him stay with her to help him out. A warrant was issued for Pitman’s arrest after he failed to appear in court Aug. 3. Raab also faces misdemeanor theft charges and has a warrant out for his arrest.
• Matthew David Gilbertson, 35, Monroe, was charged Aug. 16 with seven Class H felony counts of forgery. He signed a $5,000 signature bond and has a pre-trial conference Sept. 18. Court records indicate he forged checks for hundreds of dollars from the account of a Town of Clarno resident in November and December 2017.
Misdemeanors
• Joseph Marvin Kammer, 40, Juda, pleaded no contest Sept. 12 to a Class B misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct involving domestic abuse and use of a dangerous weapon. A Class A misdemeanor charge of operating a firearm while intoxicated was dismissed as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail with Huber work-release privileges. The case stems from an incident June 3 at his Town of Spring Grove home in the N2200 block of County OK. Court records indicate he and a woman were drinking homemade wine together and, in the course of an argument, he threatened to shoot her and a dog at the residence. When deputies arrived and asked how much alcohol he’d had to drink, he said “a lot.” A breathalyzer test showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.153, nearly twice the legal limit for driving. He admitted to breaking things, yelling and hitting things with a broom. Deputies noted that he made lewd comments during the booking process and that his behavior was erratic: he was cracking jokes and laughing one minute and the next minute “acting incredibly angry and hostile.”
Lafayette County Circuit Court
Felonies
• Nicholas Austin Bratzke, 23, Baraboo, was charged Sept. 4 with a Class B felony count of first-degree child sex assault involving sexual contact with a person younger than 13. His initial appearance is Sept. 17. Court records indicate a preteen girl told police she was sleeping at a Shullsburg residence in March when she awoke to Bratzke touching her genitals and thigh. Bratzke told police he had no recollection of the incident but didn’t deny that it happened: “If she says it happened, it happened, but I don’t remember.” He explained that he is self-diagnosed as a “nymphomaniac” and had a “split personality.”
• Justin Ray Ringleman, 32, Benton, was charged Sept. 6 with Class E felony counts of delivery of an amphetamine and delivery of THC, second or subsequent offense, and two Class I felony counts of maintaining a drug-trafficking place, second or subsequent offense. A warrant is issued for his arrest. Court records indicate he sold an eighth of an ounce (“eight ball”) of methamphetamine and a little over half an ounce of marijuana to a confidential informant for $440 on March 27 from his home on Bennett Road, Town of Benton. He also reportedly sold another eight ball of meth to a confidential informant for $240 on April 15 on Christensen Drive in Darlington.
• Steven Douglas Tree, 48, Argyle, and James Marlon Foster Jr., 26, Freeport, were charged Sept. 6 with two Class F felony counts of delivering cocaine as a party to a crime, second or subsequent offense. Tree is also charged with a Class I felony count of maintaining a drug-trafficking place. Warrants are issued for their arrests. Court records indicate they sold 1.7 grams of cocaine for $120 on May 3 and 2.6 grams of cocaine for $200 on May 7, both times to a confidential informant from Tree’s residence on Galena Street in Argyle. The informant also reported that Tree said he was able to sell cannabis anytime and Foster said they would be going to Freeport soon to get more cocaine. Foster also faces similar charges of cocaine dealing in Green County, along with a Class H felony charge of possessing a counterfeit non-narcotic with intent to deliver. Foster is being held at the Green County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond. His next court date in Green County is Oct. 16.