MONROE — A woman, who was among a group of defendants charged with multiple felonies related to thefts involving catalytic converters, was sentenced to a combined four years in state prison recently by a judge in Green County Circuit Court.
Brandy M. Williams, 41, of Browntown, was sentenced on Oct. 10 to an initial four years in prison, plus at least five years of extended supervision upon release; and fines. The charges include three counts of burglary, forgery, two counts of methamphetamine possession, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, and felony bail jumping.
She and a group of area residents are accused of multiple felonies in connection with the repeated thefts of converters and resulting damage at various Green County and Monroe locations over the past two years. In one such crime, they allegedly took a converter from a snow plow located at New Glarus Woods State Park.
They also are suspected in additional, similar crimes in Lafayette, Rock, and Dane counties. Thieves typically remove converters from parked cars using a battery-powered reciprocating saw and then sell them to a junk dealer, including at least one such dealer in the Freeport area. They can fetch hundreds due to the rare metals in them.
A second suspect, Timothy James Decker, 42, of Verona, is scheduled for a Nov. 21 hearing on numerous felony thefts. A third suspect is Christopher T. Odair, 45, of Browntown. Odair, who also was charged with resisting a police officer and obstructing an officer, was sentenced in September to 30 months in prison related to multiple felony catalytic converter thefts.
Another suspect in the string of converter heists, Kelsey Ann Wuethrich, 32, of Dodgeville, was free on a $50,000 signature bond and facing numerous charges for methamphetamine and other offenses when she apparently ran from the law. She never showed for court or jail, according to officials, and warrants were issued for her arrest, eventually leading to her apprehension and extradition back to Green County from Florida.
Her next court appearance on multiple felonies related to the alleged theft ring is set for Nov. 21.
Among the thefts reportedly attributed to at least one or more of suspects, include the theft of two converters from the parking lot of a Madison hotel, additional converters from a location on Wis. 69, another from a box truck in Evansville, from a box truck in the city of Monroe; and a from camper in Green County.
Officials blame drugs for fueling the thefts, and as such, all or most of the sentencing recommendations for the defendants include maintaining sobriety and required drug and alcohol treatment programs.