MONROE — A pair of Green County men have been charged with supplying the deadly opiate that apparently killed a drug user the men knew in Albany in early June.
Shannon J. Woollums, age 52 of Brodhead, and Matthew B. Riese, age 45 of Albany, are accused of providing opioids that led to the death of a 37-year-old earlier this month, according to a criminal complaint filed in Green County Circuit Court.
The incident began, according to a press statement, on June 1, 2023, just before 3:55 p.m., with a 9-1-1 report of a medical emergency on 6th Street in Albany.
Deputies, Albany EMS and First Response and Green County EMS all were dispatched to the home. But despite attempting life-saving measures, those first responders were unable to revive the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the Green County Coroner’s Office, police said.
Another victim was apparently saved by two doses of Narcan while police were on the scene. Narcan, administered through a nasal spray, can rapidly reverse the deadly effects of opiates.
“Deputy Jackson advised Victim 2 went limp while being held by Witness 1 and Witness 1 stated that he believed that she was not breathing,” said the criminal complaint about the incident. “Deputy Jackson advised that Victim 2’s eyes were dilated and her lips were turning blue. Deputy Jackson further advised that Victim 2’s arms showed indications of heavy intravenous drug use…”
After getting the Narcan, that victim, an adult female, was then transported by ambulance to an area hospital, where she was treated and later released.
As part of their follow up investigation, on Friday, June 23, 2023, Green County Sheriff’s Office officers executed a search warrant related to the Albany incident at a home in the 600 block of 14th Street in Brodhead. During the subsequent police search, two residents of the home were arrested, including Shannon Woollums, who transported to the Green County Jail.
He was tentatively charged with Delivery of Controlled Substances, 2nd Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety and 1st Degree Reckless Homicide by Delivery of Controlled Substances.
Tywanna A. Woollums, age 49, of the same home, was charged with Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and later released pending court.
Over the following weekend, a second suspect in the Albany incident — Riese — was located and taken into custody. Riese has been charged with Party to a Crime of Delivery of Controlled Substances, Party to a Crime of 2nd Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety and Party to a Crime of 1st Degree Reckless Homicide by Delivery of Controlled substances.
A Harley-Davidson motorcycle bearing an Illinois license plate and numerous Motorola cell phones were confiscated as evidence in the case — the motorcycle having been apparently used to transport the suspected fentanyl.
The incident remains under investigation.
Both Riese and Shannon Woollums appeared before Green County Circuit Court Branch 2 Judge Thomas Vale on June 27. Their next appearance is scheduled for July 7 in front of Branch 1 Judge Faun Marie Phillipson.
Both defendants had their cash bond set at $50,000, and each signed the bonds on June 28. Neither is allowed to possess or consume any controlled substances without a valid prescription; no possession of any drug paraphernalia; no contact with the immediate family of Victim 1; no contact with Victim 2, her residence, or any immediate family members; not to leave the State of Wisconsin without permission from the court; or to have any contact with the co-defendant in the case.
Woollums has a lengthy court record, a mix of traffic violations, delinquent tax warrants from the Dept. of Revenue, disorderly conduct, at least five convictions for driving under the influence, and more than a dozen civil suits, many of which are from his time with Stateline Paving. He has paid more than $31,000 in civil suits since 2005, and his unpaid debts total another $177,000. While he has fulfilled just shy of $38,000 in delinquent taxes going back nearly 30 years, he still owes another $162,000 total in filed or open cases.
Riese has a past criminal history that includes four convictions of driving under the influence, and in 2013 was found guilty of Hit-and-Run-Involved Great Bodily Harm, a Class E felony.
There have been a least three cases in Green and Lafayette Counties in the past year involving defendants charged with supplying fentanyl in overdose deaths of reported drug users.
In one such case, Tre Creamer, a Madison-based rap artist, is accused of supplying the heroin that killed a 46-year-old female who died of an apparent overdose in Argyle in 2022. He is scheduled for his next court appearance on July 12 in Lafayette County Circuit Court before Circuit Judge Faun Phillipson.
In Monroe, Levi Janssens, is awaiting trial for supplying the alleged fentanyl that killed a 32-year-old Monroe man in a local hotel room Aug 23, 2022. A Monroe native who was living in Verona at the time, Janssens faces reckless homicide charges, a class C Felony in Wisconsin, for his role in the incident.
Janssens is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on his case at 8:30 a.m. July 18 in Green County Circuit Court.