Man accused of stalking wife faces more charges

A 49-year-old Town of Saukville man who was charged last month with stalking his estranged wife after she told authorities he threatened to kill her, torture and kill her family and shoot the couple’s four dogs if she left him has been charged with continuing to intimidate her.

The man, who Ozaukee Press is not naming to protect the identity of his wife, was arrested last week in connection with the latest charges filed against him in Ozaukee County Circuit Court — felony domestic abuse counts of intimidating a witness and bail jumping. 

He was previously charged on July 16 with domestic abuse counts of stalking and disorderly conduct.

According to a criminal complaint, the woman went to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, July 14, and told a deputy that during the past weekend her husband threw a computer at a television set in their home and had previously threatened to kill her and her family members if she left him.

A video the woman made of an argument she and her husband had showed her husband yelling at her and saying that if he were to hurt anyone because she left him, a gun would be too easy. Instead, the man said, he would punish them like in “Sons of Anarchy,” a violent television series about motorcycle gangs, the complaint states. 

She said her husband has also threatened to dig a hole, put their four dogs in it and shoot each of them in the head, according to the complaint.

The woman said that after the argument, she went to a bank in Saukville to withdraw money. Her husband followed her there, and when he approached her car she locked the doors but ended up giving him the money she withdrew.

She also said she went to the Ozaukee County Justice Center to file for divorce and her husband again followed her. He left after she threatened to call 911 and she filed divorce proceedings, the complaint states.

The woman enforced a 72-hour no-contact provision against her husband, but at about 10 a.m. Monday, July 14, she told a deputy who was called to her house that he had sent her text messages threatening to hurt her, adding that he could see when she turned lights on and off in the house, according to the complaint.

The woman said she noticed all but one of her husband’s guns were missing from the house.

The deputy looked at the woman’s phone and noticed more than 100 messages sent by her husband, which continued even after she told him to leave her alone, the complaint states.

In one of the messages, her husband wrote, “Maybe I should give Arlo that address. That’s exactly what’s going to happen if you keep treating me like this. You know full well how Arlo doesn’t care about cops,” according to the complaint.

The woman said Arlo is her ex-boyfriend who strangled and sexually assaulted her, putting her in a hospital for an extended period of time, the complaint states. She said her husband is aware of the incident and uses it to intimidate her. 

Authorities pinged the man’s phone and determined he was in Milwaukee, where he was later arrested by police.

During an interview with authorities, the man admitted breaking the television but said his wife wasn’t home at the time. He denied threatening her or her family, according to the complaint.

On July 16, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain set the man’s bail at $7,500 and ordered him not to have contact with his wife, not to possess firearms and to surrender his firearms to the Sheriff’s Office. 

A day later, the man posted bail and was released from jail.

On Friday, July 25, the woman called authorities and told a deputy who arrived at her house at 6:52 p.m. that her husband had contacted her again and had been at their house earlier that day. She said she saw him leaving when she arrived home from work, according to a complaint filed in the most recent case against the man.

She said he wanted to meet with her in person and continued to send her messages despite the fact she told him to leave her alone, the complaint states.

The woman said she had written a letter to the courts asking that the divorce case she filed and no-contact provision she enforced against her husband be dismissed but did so under duress.

She said her husband told her not to show up for court proceedings and said if she did he would make sure she would lose her job and her family, according to the complaint.

In her request for a harassment injunction against her husband, the woman wrote she was seeking the court order “due to all the threats, breaking of my things, following me around trying to track me. Telling me he’s going to either drop my dogs off on the side of the road or dig a hole put my dogs inside and shoot them then cover them and there would be nothing I can do about it. Threatened to kill my children and his own if I leave him,” the complaint states.

At 8:31 p.m. July 25, the woman called authorities to report her husband was at their home. She said he didn’t come inside or talk to her, and when she saw him she ran into the house and locked the doors, according to the complaint.

The latest charges against the man were filed on July 31 and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Court records indicate he was taken into custody on Aug. 11.

During an Aug. 12 hearing, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams set the man’s bail at $15,000 and ordered him not to have contact with his wife or possess firearms or other dangerous weapons. A prosecutor had requested $75,000 bail. 

He posted bail and was released from jail the next day. 

The man’s daughter has also filed a petition for a restraining order against him. In the petition, the woman wrote she hasn’t had contact with him for the last two years  because of a history of “emotional abuse, manipulation and unstable behavior,”  adding that “he has recently begun targeting me again and I am fearful for my safety and well-being.”

The man is contesting the restraining order and has requested a hearing, which was scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19.