MONROE — A Monroe man in and out of jail since October for repeatedly violating court orders that he not drink alcohol was sentenced in multiple cases March 28 in Green County Circuit Court.
Dennis Beutel, 48, pleaded no contest to felony charges of bail jumping and taking and driving a vehicle without consent and a misdemeanor third-offense charge of operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration. Charges of hit-and-run, resisting an officer and numerous counts of felony bail jumping were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Beutel was sentenced to three years on probation, with orders to seek mental health and substance abuse treatment and counseling. A 90-day jail sentence was also imposed, with 78 days already served as of his sentencing March 28.
State court records show little criminal history for Beutel prior to September, most notably a 2005 conviction of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for which he paid a fine.
But between September and January, he racked up eight felony cases.
His troubles with the law in Green County began Sept. 26. Court records indicate he stole a truck from a Brodhead resident he did not know and was later stopped by police for “weaving all over the road,” stopping in the middle of the road and crossing the centerline.
While at the Brodhead Police Department for questioning, he started ramming his head into a bathroom stall door, said he didn’t remember what happened and told police he was “not right in the head” and needed help, according to police reports.
Beutel was subsequently arrested multiple times for breaking his conditions of bond by drinking, including an incident Oct. 3 when he was “found intoxicated, sleeping inside of a vehicle” parked behind a bar in Monroe.
On Jan. 9, he was arrested again after a two-vehicle crash at the Argyle Interchange just outside Monroe city limits. He failed to stop for a stop sign on the Wisconsin 11 off-ramp to Wis. 69/81, collided with another driver and drove off when police arrived on scene, leading officers into Monroe on a pursuit of about one mile.
A felony theft case against Beutel in Lafayette County, filed in September, is still pending.