Man who beat tavern patron gets chance to avoid prison

One of two men charged in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with trying to pick a fight with a man at a Fredonia bar, then beating him severely for no apparent reason as he left the tavern in January, was given a chance last week to avoid prison.

Erik J. Ziehr, 26, who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm during a June 9 hearing, was sentenced by Judge Steve Cain to two years in prison and two years of extended supervision, but the judge stayed that sentence.

Cain then placed Ziehr on probation for 30 months and ordered him to serve eight months in the county jail as a condition of probation.

Because Cain stayed the prison sentence, Ziehr won’t have to serve it unless he violates his conditions of probation.

Also charged with aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm in connection with the same incident is Justin J. Orten, 24, of Fredonia. Orten has pleaded not guilty to the felony charge and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 5.

According to a criminal complaint, sheriff’s deputies who were called to Jen’s Place on Fredonia Avenue for a report of a fight that occurred at about 2:10 a.m. Jan. 26 found a man sitting at the bar with his head down, gasping for air and wincing.

The man told the deputies he had been “ambushed” and attacked by two men later identified as Ziehr and Orten, the complaint states.

The man was taken to a hospital where it was determined he had a partially collapsed and punctured lung and three broken ribs.

The man later told deputies that he was sitting at the bar when Ziehr and Orten walked into the tavern and began harassing people by moving from group to group trying to start arguments or fights, according to the complaint.

The man said that when Ziehr and Orten approached him, he told them no one in the bar wanted to argue or fight with them. An argument ensued but ended with Orten shaking the man’s hand. 

After paying his tab, the man said, he left the bar and was walking to his vehicle  when Ziehr appeared and began harassing him again. The man said he told Ziehr he wasn’t looking for a fight, then continued walking to his vehicle. That’s when Ziehr hit him in the head from behind and “body checked” him to the ground, the complaint states.

The man said he was trying to block Ziehr’s attacks while telling him repeatedly he didn’t want to fight, adding that he did not fight back, when Orten began kicking him in the ribs, according to the complaint. 

Neither Ziehr nor Orten were at the bar when deputies arrived, but when interviewed later, Orten, who smelled of alcohol and was slurring his words, denied being involved in a fight. When asked by a deputy if Ziehr was involved in an altercation, Orten said, “You could say that, sure. More so Erik,” before denying involvement in the incident again and blaming Ziehr, the complaint states.

When Ziehr, who also smelled of alcohol, was asked by a deputy about the incident, he said, “It didn’t go as it was supposed to” and blamed Orten, according to the complaint.

During last week’s hearing, Cain ordered Ziehr not to have contact with the victim, Jen’s Place or Orten and to maintain absolute sobriety and participate in anger management counseling if deemed appropriate by his probation agent.