Man charged with threatening to shoot dentist arrested again

A 61-year-old Town of Grafton man charged in October with threatening to shoot a dentist and his staff as well as a Department of Natural Resources conservation warden was arrested again last week after authorities say he sent a text message to the dentist in violation of a court order.

Jeffrey Knapp faces new charges of violating a harassment injunction and two counts of felony bail jumping.

Knapp, the owner of Bucky’s Taxidermy who was apparently doing business with the dentist, sent him an incoherent text message at 5 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8, that read “I redix the price of what u cheating me out on. 47 $,” after a judge granted the dentist his request for a restraining order prohibiting Knapp from harassing or having contact with him, according to a criminal complaint filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court Monday.

Knapp told authorities that his phone, which has a voice-to-text feature, must have heard him talking about the case and sent the message to the dentist, the complaint states.

Knapp, who was initially arrested in September after being tased and shot with bean bags by sheriff’s deputies at his home and business, was charged on Oct. 11 with making terrorist threats and threatening to harm a law enforcement officer. He posted $20,000 bail on Oct. 22 and was released from jail.

On Monday, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Adam Gerol set Knapp’s bail at $50,000 on the new charges. According to court records, he posted the $50,000 later that day.

Knapp was arrested last week as he showed up for a firearms surrender hearing in the injunction case against him, during which his attorney, Daniel Baltz, told Judge Sandy Williams that Knapp had turned over his cache of 44 weapons to a relative.

According to an exhibit in the case, of the 44 weapons, 37 are guns and include a Bushmaster assault-style rifle, several high-powered hunting rifles, .22 caliber rifles, shotguns and handguns. Seven of the weapons are compound bows or crossbows.

Williams ordered that the weapons be surrendered to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office by 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8.

Knapp pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease to the felony counts of making terrorist threats and threatening to harm a law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor charge of obstructing officers during an Oct. 24 court hearing.

When a so-called insanity plea is entered, it must first be determined if the defendant committed the crimes he is charged with, then whether he is responsible for them.

Knapp, who was being treated in the behavioral health unit of an area facility when he was charged on Oct. 11, was subsequently booked in the county jail before posting $20,000 bail.

The charges against Knapp are based in part on interviews with the dentist and one of Knapp’s friends, who provided detailed accounts of the threats he made. His friend said Knapp even told him he had three scenarios for killing the dentist, saying he would either shoot him from a tree stand, go to his home and make his wife watch as he shot him or go to his dental clinic with a shotgun and shoot the dentist and everyone else there, according to a criminal complaint.

Knapp’s friend said he was terrified the dentist and his family were in danger, noting that Knapp had numerous guns, was usually drunk and had threatened to kill himself after shooting the dentist, the complaint states.

After Knapp’s friend called the dentist on Sept. 20 to tell him about the threats, the dentist, who was out of town at the time, informed his staff of the possible danger and his family left home and went into hiding.

The dentist told authorities that Knapp first threatened him on Sept. 14 when he went to Bucky’s Taxidermy to pick up an item he had ordered.

The dentist said at first Knapp appeared normal although drunk, but then he began to rant and threatened to kill him and conservation warden Tony Young, according to the complaint.

The dentist said Knapp told him a story about a confrontation that occurred when Young came to his house. Knapp said he grabbed the warden’s gun out of his holster and told him to back off, adding that he would shoot Young if he came to his house again and said the wrong thing, the complaint states.

Knapp made up the story, Ozaukee Undersheriff Marshall Hermann said.

“We spoke to the warden and there was no confrontation and he was not disarmed by Knapp,” Hermann said. “It was a fabricated story that Knapp told the witness, possibly as a way to intimidate him or due to his mental health crisis.”

The dentist said although he was very concerned about his Sept. 14 encounter with Knapp, he did not initially report the threats to authorities because he wanted to give Knapp time to deal with the recent death of his daughter, according to the complaint.

The dentist did, however, report the threats on Sept. 20 after being told by Knapp’s friend that he and his family were in danger.

That is when officers descended on Knapp’s home and business on Trailway Court. His wife left the house followed by Knapp, who walked to a detached garage, got into his truck and drove to the end of the driveway at a high rate of speed, gesturing at and making derogatory comments to officers, the complaint states.

Knapp got out of the truck and walked toward officers. He initially ignored commands, but then lied face down on the ground as he was ordered to do.

Knapp, however, then stood up, resisted officers and began walking back to his house. After an officer attempted unsuccessfully to tase Knapp, and because of his mental state, the homicidal and suicidal threats he made and his failure to comply with authorities, a deputy fired “less-lethal” bean bag rounds at him. The first round missed him. A second round appeared to strike him in the back but Knapp continued to ignore commands. A third round clearly hit Knapp and he went to the ground and was arrested, according to the complaint.

  During the Oct. 24 court hearing, Knapp waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial by Gerol.

As conditions of Knapp’s bail, Gerol ordered him to surrender his guns to authorities, maintain absolute sobriety and wear an alcohol monitoring device.

Threatening to harm a law enforcement officer is punishable by a maximum three years in prison and three years of extended supervision. Making a terrorist threat is punishable by 1-1/2 years in prison and two years of extended supervision.