MONROE - A request to reduce bail was denied Wednesday, June 20, for a Brodhead woman accused of trying to kill her estranged husband in May.
Roxann Nordeng, 59, also amended her initial plea of not guilty to not guilty by mental disease or defect. She faces felony charges in Green County Circuit Court of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and burglary and a misdemeanor charge of intentionally pointing a firearm at a person.
Her attorney was granted permission to have Dr. Michael Kaye, a Janesville neuropsychologist, evaluate Nordeng's mental competency.
The Lafayette County judge handling her case upheld the $100,000 cash bail set for Nordeng in mid-May, ruling against her attorney's petition for a reduction of more than 90 percent to $7,500.
Judge William Johnston said the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence that Nordeng is a danger to the public and her alleged victims and should not be granted a more affordable bail.
Her attorney, Philip Brehm, contended the bail amount is beyond her ability to pay and is unreasonable, given Nordeng's lack of a criminal record, and she should be able to get out of jail on a lower bail so she can return to friends and family in the area.
"This is her home base. She has no reason to abscond," Brehm said.
The seriousness of the charges against Nordeng outweighed these factors, Johnston ruled.
He said he was particularly concerned by potential new evidence that Nordeng threatened to "finish the job" when she got out.
Prosecuting attorney Jeffrey Kohl said he heard about this alleged threat third-hand and was still verifying whether Nordeng actually said it.
Nordeng, via her attorney, denied making a threat to "finish the job."
Still, Kohl said he had enough other evidence that Nordeng made violent threats against her husband and his live-in girlfriend in the past year to warrant the higher bail.
"This was not a momentary lapse of judgment," Kohl said.
The charges against Nordeng stem from an incident May 9 at the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
At her preliminary hearing, her husband, Arthur R. Nordeng, 64, and a woman identified as his girlfriend, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 27, testified that Roxann Nordeng tried on the evening of May 9 to make good on numerous threats to kill them.
Roxann Nordeng reportedly showed up at their trailer home wearing latex gloves and carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in a Ziploc bag.
Her husband testified that she pointed the gun at him, and when he grabbed the barrel in a "death grip" to point it away from him, her finger pulled the trigger and the gun fired upward, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the trailer's screen door.
Nordeng filed for a divorce from her husband in May 2011. Court records indicate it is still pending.
Roxann Nordeng, 59, also amended her initial plea of not guilty to not guilty by mental disease or defect. She faces felony charges in Green County Circuit Court of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and burglary and a misdemeanor charge of intentionally pointing a firearm at a person.
Her attorney was granted permission to have Dr. Michael Kaye, a Janesville neuropsychologist, evaluate Nordeng's mental competency.
The Lafayette County judge handling her case upheld the $100,000 cash bail set for Nordeng in mid-May, ruling against her attorney's petition for a reduction of more than 90 percent to $7,500.
Judge William Johnston said the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence that Nordeng is a danger to the public and her alleged victims and should not be granted a more affordable bail.
Her attorney, Philip Brehm, contended the bail amount is beyond her ability to pay and is unreasonable, given Nordeng's lack of a criminal record, and she should be able to get out of jail on a lower bail so she can return to friends and family in the area.
"This is her home base. She has no reason to abscond," Brehm said.
The seriousness of the charges against Nordeng outweighed these factors, Johnston ruled.
He said he was particularly concerned by potential new evidence that Nordeng threatened to "finish the job" when she got out.
Prosecuting attorney Jeffrey Kohl said he heard about this alleged threat third-hand and was still verifying whether Nordeng actually said it.
Nordeng, via her attorney, denied making a threat to "finish the job."
Still, Kohl said he had enough other evidence that Nordeng made violent threats against her husband and his live-in girlfriend in the past year to warrant the higher bail.
"This was not a momentary lapse of judgment," Kohl said.
The charges against Nordeng stem from an incident May 9 at the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
At her preliminary hearing, her husband, Arthur R. Nordeng, 64, and a woman identified as his girlfriend, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 27, testified that Roxann Nordeng tried on the evening of May 9 to make good on numerous threats to kill them.
Roxann Nordeng reportedly showed up at their trailer home wearing latex gloves and carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in a Ziploc bag.
Her husband testified that she pointed the gun at him, and when he grabbed the barrel in a "death grip" to point it away from him, her finger pulled the trigger and the gun fired upward, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the trailer's screen door.
Nordeng filed for a divorce from her husband in May 2011. Court records indicate it is still pending.