Case against man charged in standoff to proceed

A case against a man accused of firing high-powered guns from his Fredonia house, threatening to shoot law enforcement officers and holding authorities at bay for 35 hours in May 2025, which has already been paused once, can proceed, an Ozaukee County Circuit Court judge ruled last week.

Based on a psychologist’s report, Judge Steve Cain ruled on May 7 that Matthew K. Novak remains competent to stand trial on the six felonies he faces.

In August 2025, Judge Sandy Williams ruled that Novak was not competent and ordered him to undergo treatment. Three months later, Williams found that he was once again competent and the case resumed.

But in March, Novak’s attorney, Jason Luczak, wrote a letter to Cain stating he believed Novak was once again not competent to stand trial.

  The judge ordered a competency evaluation, and on March 19 the psychologist who was conducting the evaluation wrote in a letter to Cain that Novak “was mute for the duration of our meeting,” but the evaluation was completed.

But Novak’s mental condition — not currently but at the time of the standoff — remains an issue for the court because he has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease.

The question of competency deals with a defendant’s current state of mind and whether he is able to understand the proceedings against him, communicate with counsel and assist in his defense. If a defendant is found incompetent, he can be ordered to undergo treatment until he regains competency.

A plea of not guilty by reason of mental illness — a so-called insanity defense — deals with the defendant’s state of mind at the time the crime was committed and contends that he lacked the capacity to appreciate the wrongness of his acts. Such a plea triggers a two-part process, the first of which is to determine whether he committed the crimes he is charged with, then whether he is legally responsible for them.

Novak was arrested on May 10, 2025, at his home at 139 Fox Glen Dr. after authorities blasted him with a water cannon and shot him with a beanbag round to end the standoff, during which he expressed disdain for law enforcement officers and the federal government, Ozaukee County District Attorney Benjamin Lindsay said during a May bail hearing.

After his arrest, Novak told authorities he wanted to die a martyr and was upset that the standoff was covered only by local news outlets, not the national media, according to a criminal complaint.

He also told investigators that he barricaded himself in a room that allowed him to watch for people entering his house, who he intended to kill if he considered them a threat, the complaint states.

Novak, who is being held in jail in lieu of $1 million bail, is charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, failure to comply with an officer who was trying to arrest him, intentionally pointing a firearm at an officer and three counts of harming or threatening to harm an officer — all felonies.

According to the complaint, an Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy responded to the report of loud music and gunfire in the area of Novak’s house at 8:36 p.m. Thursday, May 8. Other deputies arrived to canvass the area, and at 10:14 p.m. one of them called Novak to ask if he was playing the music. Novak replied, “Oh yes, absolutely,” adding that he was also shooting guns and having a good time.

Novak also said, “So, I’m going to play some music, and if anyone comes around I shoot” before ending the call, the complaint states.

Officers left the area but returned after receiving a 911 call from a Fredonia resident who reported hearing a gunshot. At 10:58 p.m., deputies heard gunshots coming from the direction of Novak’s home.

Surveillance video from a neighbor’s home recorded as many as 100 gunshots coming from Novak’s house, including two bursts of 25 to 30 rounds, each in less than six seconds, according to the complaint.

A deputy launched a drone equipped with a camera and saw a man shooting a handgun and rifle from the back patio of Novak’s house.

Lindsay said in May that Novak used photos of Democratic governors as shooting targets in his yard.

The Ozaukee County Special Response Team arrived around 11:30 p.m., informed Novak he was under arrest and ordered him to leave his house, which Novak refused to do.

During a phone conversation with negotiators, Novak said he was armed with a handgun and rifle, made one of several references to having automatic guns, mentioned using drugs such as LSD, cocaine and marijuana and said he was ready to shoot. During other conversations with officers, Novak said he took “lots of LSD” as well as heroin, the complaint states.

Novak threatened to kill officers, made reference to having an AK-47 assault rifle and told a negotiator he had a rifle aimed “at your head with night vision,” according the complaint.

Early Friday morning, May 9, a Saukville police officer saw Novak wearing night vision goggles and pointing a rifle at an armored vehicle occupied by officers, the complaint states.

At 4:39 a.m., authorities flew a drone into the house through the patio door and saw a rifle with a bipod on the kitchen counter before the drone became disabled. Another drone was flown into the house, providing video that showed several guns in the house before Novak knocked it down using a blanket.

Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles said shortly after the standoff ended that authorities, who breached Novak’s home so they could see him holed up on the second floor, eventually used an unmanned fire hose to blast him.

Novak later told officers that he had no intention of leaving his house and was willing to die there until he got cold from being sprayed with water, the complaint states.

At 10:47 a.m. Saturday, May 10, Novak came down the stairs and stood in the front doorway. He ignored the commands of officers and instead flipped them off. He was eventually shot in the leg with a “less lethal” beanbag round and arrested.

Novak’s home was seriously damaged during the standoff and had to be shored up by contractors before it could be searched. When authorities were able to enter the house on May 14, four handguns, nine rifles, ammunition that included armor-piercing rounds, night vision goggles, thermal optics and electronic devices were found, Knowles said.