Advertisement
James Andrew Lindsey, 23, was convicted on one count of first-degree burglary and third-degree assault resulting in substantial bodily harm. As part of a plea agreement, nine additional charges of burglary, assault with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and theft were dropped.
According to the criminal complaint, Lindsey and two other men forced their way into a 69-year-old man’s home in the 650 block of West Fifth Street on May 16. Once inside, they tied the man up with duct tape, pistol-whipped him and stole nearly $5,000 in cash, the complaint states.
Warrants have been issued for Lindsey’s accomplices: Lennie Dwayne Brooks, 22, and Dennis Lee Richardson Jr., 23.
Lindsey will be sentenced April 29.
Pull tab theft
Felony theft charges were filed in Winona County District Court late last week against Michael Jerome Wittig, 24, of Winona. The criminal complaint accuses him of stealing $1,352 cash from a pull tab box from his employer, the Draught Haus bar.
Police were dispatched to the bar Wednesday at 6:43 p.m. The owner told them Wittig was tending bar at 4:30 p.m. and when another owner came in at 6:30 p.m., the bar was left open and was completely unoccupied.
A friend of Wittig’s told officers he was “kind of a loner” who was not acting like himself lately, according to the complaint. The friend said Wittig had joked he was going to rob a bank or “clean out” the bar.
Police later learned a woman had driven Wittig to a gas station in Sparta, Wis. That woman reported being scared of Wittig, who had admitted to her he stole the cash. According to the police report, the Wisconsin State Patrol took Wittig into custody at about 9 p.m..
A warrant has been issued to bring Wittig to Winona County to face his charges.
Burglar convicted
Jeffrey Alan Thomson, 19, of Holmen, Wis., admitted to a judge Monday that he helped another man break into a Goodview home last summer and steal alcohol, guns and cash.
By entering a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped three additional charges of burglary and theft. At sentencing, both sides will recommend a stay of imposition, which will place Thomson on probation. If he successfully completes that, the burglary will be listed as a misdemeanor on his record rather than a felony.
According to the criminal complaint, he and Justin Glen Dahl, 18, of Goodview, used a knife to cut a window screen and broke into a home June 18 on 63rd Avenue. Inside, they stole about 30 bottles of wine, two .22-caliber rifles and about $40 cash. Thomson said Dahl gave him $20 for helping break in.
At Thomson’s plea hearing Monday morning, Judge Margaret Shaw Johnson admonished Thomson for being a college student willing to get involved in a felony “for 20 bucks.”
He is scheduled to be sentenced June 11. Dahl is set to have a plea hearing April 24.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
