MONROE — A Monroe woman charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety for using her truck to ram another vehicle outside of a Browntown bar last year struck a plea agreement recently on the most serious charge that requires a short jail sentence rather than a term in state prison.
But the 42-year-old will still have to serve time immediately as ordered in county jail, after an emergency motion to extend a 10-day furlough to deal with family matters was denied Thursday by Green County Circuit Court Judge Jane Bucher. Among the issues she is coping with, defendant Jessica Olson told Bucher, is how to arrange care for 11-year-old son while she’s serving her time.
“It’s been rough,” said an emotional Olson, who at one point thought she might be able to serve her time in Dane County.
As part of the agreement, according to court records, the remaining counts against Olson — felony criminal damage to property, and obstructing an officer — were dismissed but read into the court record.
Crucially, she was ordered to serve 9 months in county jail with Huber privileges.
Police say the incident occurred March 16, 2025, when they found a car that had been in an accident along the side of Wis. 11 and County M in the Town of Cadiz. The victim in the car was not immediately identified but is thought to be known to the defendant, as there was a domestic violence enhancement to the charges.
Not far away from the crash on March 16, across from a nearby bar, police found a pickup with damage consistent with what they saw on the gold Chevy Malibu in the ditch, according to a criminal complaint. Witnesses who stopped at the scene also told police that while they had not seen the crash, they did see a black truck briefly stop, its occupants get out and look at the crash, and then get back in the truck and leave.
Police initially searched the Browntown bar with no sign of the suspect. They continued to investigate the matter, and when later recordings surfaced of a phone call, allegedly between her and her brother on a Green County Jail-issued phone, she confessed to “maybe intentionally” ramming the vehicle.
Then on March 17, she was recorded as describing what happened to her brother: “I pulled up. He (the victim) didn’t want to stop. He put his car in reverse. He went around the church, so when he went to the stop sign I (expletive) rammed him at 70 (expletive) miles per hour; sent him (expletive) sailing across the highway.”
On Thursday, Olson told the judge that she has struggled mightily to find care for her young son, although he does have the support of close family to help him get through the ordeal and his mother’s extended absence.
“He does have people that love and care about him,” she said.
Olson was represented in the case by defense attorney Jonas Bednarek. Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl opposed the defendant’s request for an extension of a 10-day furlough, already granted by Bucher on July 13.
Bucher said the while she is sympathetic to her plight as a mother, there would be no extension of the pause.
“I understand, to use your words, that not all your ducks in a row as far as the care of your son,” said Bucher, adding that delaying serving her sentence would only extend the disruption to her family and the time it takes to get the charges behind her for good. “There’s not going to be a good time for you to be in jail or go to jail at all.”
As part of her sentence, Olson must serve 3 years of probation during which she “may not possess or consume any intoxicants during term of probation,” and maintain absolute sobriety, according to court records.