Four people were cited and one of them went to jail after a traffic stop last Monday night in the Town of Bradley. Deputies were out on Hwy. 51 looking for a reckless driver heading south when a deputy spotted an SUV matching that description heading south at 78 MPH. The deputy stopped the vehicle at Crass Rd. and when he made contact with the vehicle occupants he noted the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The Merrill Police Department K9 Unit responded to the scene and indicated the vehicle may contain drugs. A search found no drugs, but open containers of alcohol were located, which the occupants admitted to consuming. The driver, a 23-year-old Eland man, was cited for operating without insurance, operating in violation of his license rules and speeding. A passenger, a 31-year-old Milwaukee man, was cited for having open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, as was a second 25-year-old passenger. A 19-year-old passenger from Lac du Flambeau was cited for underage drinking and was brought to jail on a probation hold for violating the terms of her supervised release.
A 28-year-old Tomahawk man was arrested late last Monday evening after a deputy, conducting follow up for the Tomahawk Police Department, found a wanted person. The Tomahawk Police officer wanted to confirm the owner of a vehicle he had just stopped and asked the deputy to go to a hotel on North Fourth Street to confirm the man had permission to operate the vehicle. When the deputy found the man at the hotel, he was standing holding a bottle of beer. The deputy was aware the suspect was out on bond in Marathon County and took him into custody for violating the no drink conditions of that bond. The man was also wanted by the Marathon County Sheriff for failing to appear on a disorderly conduct charge, and a Lincoln County warrant for disorderly conduct for an incident that occurred in March on Spirit Haven Rd. When a breath test at the jail confirmed the suspect was impaired, he was also charged with a new charge of bail jumping. At an initial appearance last Tuesday, the man was released on a $100 cash bond that was set by a Lincoln County Judge; he was then transferred to the Marathon County Jail.
Two Irma residents were injured in a single motorcycle crash last Tuesday evening in the Town of Schley. Just after5 p.m., a witness phoned 911 to report the crash on County Rd. X and Mosser Rd. According to the deputy’s report, the husband and wife were traveling west on County Rd. X when the driver started to become blinded by the heavy rain that started falling. When the motorcycle came to a curve, the operator misjudged the curve and the motorcycle skidded off the road into a field. The passenger, a 54-year-old Irma woman, was transported to Ministry Good Samaritan Health Center where she was treated and released. The driver, a 56-year-old Irma man, was transported to Ministry Good Samaritan Health Center where he remained until Thursday. Neither the driver nor passenger were wearing helmets.
A 21-year-old Rhinelander man was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after deputies responded to Hwy. 51 for a report of a domestic disturbance on the side of the highway. The victim called 911 just after 2 p.m. and reported she was stopped on the side of Hwy. 51 near Irma. Deputies located her and the suspect stopped south of County Rd. H. The suspect, a passenger in the vehicle, admitted as they were traveling home from Marshfield he and the victim, who is six months pregnant, were arguing. While the pair was going north on Hwy. 51 north of Merrill, the suspect twice reached over and shut off the motor vehicle, causing the woman to have to take evasive action. The suspect was brought to the Lincoln County Jail where he was charged with disorderly conduct and a felony charge of recklessly endangering safety. An additional charge of misdemeanor bail jumping was added after deputies learned the man was just released on a signature bond in Oneida County six days earlier after a disturbance there. When the man went for an initial appearance in Lincoln County Court, he was charged by the district attorney with only the disorderly conduct and bail jumping charges and was released by a Lincoln County Judge on signature bond.
Pine River firefighters were called out last Wednesday after a vehicle struck a power pole on Center Rd. The driver of the vehicle, a 40-year-old Wausau man, was traveling west on Center Rd. east of Range Line Rd. when he admitted he wasn’t paying attention, allowing his vehicle to leave the road and strike a power pole. The pole was snapped in half and the pole and power lines landed on the man’s pickup truck. Emergency dispatchers told the man to remain in his vehicle until help arrived. Firefighters and deputies blocked the roadway until Wisconsin Public Service arrived on the scene and turned the power off, allowing the driver to escape from his truck. He was cited for inattentive driving and was released.
The Rec. Deputy is reminding boaters to make sure their watercraft is ready for the holiday weekend. The Rec. Deputy, along with the DNR, will be out patrolling the county waterways this holiday weekend as usual. He would like to remind boaters to do the following before taking to the water: make sure your registration is current, that you have enough personal flotation devices for each of your passengers, that your navigation lights are working and onboard, that your onboard fire extinguisher is charged and ready to go, to check the weather before you head out in case of storms, and lastly make sure you have a designated driver onboard.
The number of car deer crashes is down slightly with 11 being reported this past week.