Man accused of saying he would ‘pop’ judge, family

A 35-year-old man accused of calling an agency associated with the Ozaukee County court system and threatening to “pop” a judge and his family and “pop up” the Justice Center in Port Washington has been charged with several felonies, including making terrorist threats.

Anthony C. Schoen of Milwaukee is also charged in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with felony counts of threatening a judge and felony bail jumping, as well as one misdemeanor count of using a telephone to threaten harm.

At the time Schoen made the call on Wednesday, Feb. 14, he was free on bail in connection with two other cases in which he is charged with threatening his uncle, who lives in Mequon, and a Brown Deer police officer.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Ozaukee County on Feb. 15, Schoen called the Port Washington office of an agency associated with the Ozaukee County court system at 9 a.m. Feb. 14, identified himself as officer Anthony Mack and told the person who answered the phone, “You (expletive) in Port Washington, you trumped up charges against me, and if the judge don’t drop the charges, I’m going to pop the judge, pop his family and pop up the courthouse.”

The threats prompted authorities to assign officers to the office where the call was received and post additional deputies at the Justice Center.

Authorities traced the number Schoen called from to the manager of a boarding house for people suffering from mental illness on North 15th Street in Milwaukee. The manager told them Schoen lived at the house and had used his phone to make a call earlier that day.

The manager said that Schoen, who he heard yelling during the phone conversation, had told him he called the Ozaukee County District Attorney’s Office, the complaint states. Actually, authorities said, Schoen called a different agency.

Investigators also learned that Schoen used similar language when he called the Brown Deer Police Station on Feb. 5, identified himself as Lt. Col. Mack and threatened a police detective, according to the complaint. 

Schoen was arrested Feb. 14 and is being held in the Milwaukee County jail in lieu of $2,500 bail.

Three months earlier, Schoen had been in the Ozaukee County jail, where he was held briefly on charges that he threatened his uncle several times between July 19 and Sept. 6.

He is charged in that case with three counts of harassment, three counts of unlawful use of a telephone to threaten harm and three counts of disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.

According to the complaint in that case, a Mequon man told authorities that Schoen is his nephew and he had tried to help him by letting him live at one of the properties he owns in Mequon.

The man said that in one of the five messages Schoen left for him, Schoen claimed his uncle owed him $5,000. In subsequent messages, Schoen said he owned him $30,000, the complaint states.

In a July 19 message, Schoen told his uncle, “I’m going to light (you) up with this AR-15.” Two months later, Schoen left a message for the man that stated, “I’m going to knock your head off on Walnut Street,” according to the complaint.

The man said the reference to Walnut Street concerned him because he frequents that area for work. 

He also told investigators that Schoen threatened to kill him and made reference to a house on Country Club Drive. The man said he doesn’t live on Country Club Drive but was worried that Schoen thought he did and would hurt someone living there.

Schoen’s bail in this case was set at $500, which he immediately posted.