Law Enforcement

■ ■ February 5 - An officer was dispatched to an apartment in Colby in reference to the odor of marijuana coming from an apartment. The officer was told that a man would meet him outside. The officer arrived and met with the man who said he can smell an odor of marijuana in the hallway and it leads to apartment 105. On Nov. 28, 2023, the officer was dispatched to the same location for the same complaint. The officer went inside and could smell the odor of burnt marijuana and followed the smell to the apartment. The officer walked past the apartment and could no longer smell the odor. The officer knocked on the door and no one answered.

The officer notified the man that a report would be completed to document the incident.

■ ■ February 6 - An officer was dispatched to a store in Abbotsford in reference to a retail theft complaint. The officer arrived and met with an employee who said a man had stolen a bottle of rum. The employee showed the officer the video footage of the man grabbing the bottle of rum from the liquor department and placing it in the basket of his shopping cart. The man walks around and goes by the chip aisle when he bends down and can be seen moving something around in his clothing. The man’s back is to the camera. When the man exits the aisle, the bottle of rum is gone from the shopping cart.

Employees checked the aisle and did not locate the bottle. The man purchased some groceries and left the store. The officer obtained the license plate number for the vehicle the man was driving and went to the registered owner’s residence. The officer met with a woman who said a man had been driving her car that day. The woman provided the officer a phone number for the man. The officer called the man and left him a voicemail. Later that day, the man called the officer back and admitted to stealing the bottle. The man asked if he could return the bottle and not be cited for retail theft. The officer told him to bring the unopened bottle to the police department and the officer would speak to the store and see if they would want to press charges against the man.

■ ■ February 7 - An officer took a damaged vehicle complaint at a store in Abbotsford. The officer spoke with the caller who said he noticed his truck had been damaged while putting groceries in his truck. The man said he waxed his vehicle two days prior and the truck had not been driven until he went to get groceries that day. The man said the damage had to have occurred in the parking lot. The man gave the officer the time and date that he was there.

The officer took photos of the man’s vehicle. The officer checked the cameras and watched the man’s truck from the point he arrived to the point he noticed the damage. There was one person that got close to the man’s truck.

It did not appear to the officer that the man could have caused that damage in the amount of time he passed by the truck. The officer notified the man of his findings and said he would complete a report.

■ ■ February 8 - An officer responded to a shoplifting complaint at a store in Abbotsford. The officer met with staff at the business as well as a female. The staff had advised that the woman was observed filling a shopping cart that had bags in it. The woman was there for about 23 minutes and made her way to the north end of the registers. The woman looked around seemingly to look if anyone noticed her. The woman pushed her cart closer towards the door and stopped again.

The woman was approached by a staff member as the woman pushed the cart through the sliding exit door where the staff member grabbed her cart and stopped her. The woman argued that she had not stolen anything. The woman was asked numerous times why she was walking out without paying for any of the items. The woman said she was getting her wallet from her car. The woman was asked about numerous things including why she was at that store and most of her stories did not make sense.

Video shows the incident exactly as it was described to the officer and the officer issued the woman a citation for retail theft. The woman left and was advised that she was not welcome back.

■ ■ February 9 - An officer was driving behind a vehicle in Abbotsford. The vehicle deviated from its lane of travel while the officer was following the vehicle. The officer conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle and met with the driver. The driver’s information was sent through dispatch and the man came back with a revoked driver’s license and a Clark County Sheriff’s Office warrant for possession of cocaine.

The officer reapproached the vehicle, had the man step out and walk to the front of the officer’s patrol vehicle and informed the man of the warrant. The man said he knew someone who could pay for his warrant and the officer informed the man he was being placed under arrest for the warrant. The man was transported to the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department where a woman arrived and provided the money for the warrant. The man was cited for operating while revoked and given a warning for deviation from designated lane of travel. The man was then released.

■ ■ February 9 - An officer was working in Abbotsford when he observed a vehicle driving south on Hwy. 13 traveling above the posted speed limit of 25 mph. The officer activated his radar and observed the vehicle traveling 36 mph and initiated a traffic stop. The officer made contact with the driver and advised her of the reason for the traffic stop. The woman said she was traveling from Abbotsford and said she was coming from the bar. The woman said she had 3-4 drinks while at a bar in Abbotsford. The officer observed the woman’s speech to be slurred and slow and could smell the slight odor of intoxicants coming from inside the vehicle.

The officer returned to his patrol squad and conducted a records check of the woman. The officer noted she had two prior OWI convictions. The officer returned to the woman’s vehicle and asked her to step out of the vehicle. The officer asked the woman if she would conduct standardized field sobriety tests and the woman said it was cold out and she was fine to drive. The officer notified her that the test could be done in the garage of the police department.

The woman agreed to take the tests in the police department garage and rode with the officer to the CAPD. After the field sobriety tests, the officer asked the woman if she would consent to a preliminary breath test. The woman declined saying she knew she was over the limit.

The woman was placed under arrest for operating while under the influence. The woman then consented to an evidentiary chemical test of her breath. The woman was issued citations for exceeding speed zones (1-10 mph) and operating while under the influence (3rd offense). The woman was then released to a responsible party.

■ ■ February 10 - An officer was dispatched to a business in Abbotsford in reference to a retail theft complaint. The officer arrived and met with the owner of the business who said she noticed that some of her inventory was almost out of some lotion and face cream. The owner said she did not remember selling that much of that product so she went to review video footage. The owner said that she had video footage of a male stealing the lotion and face cream and showed the officer the video.

In the video, which was recorded the day prior, a male wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants shopping with a female are seen looking at the lotions. The owner was sitting at the desk just down the aisle from them. The woman is between the owner and the male. The male grabbed an item off the shelf with his left hand, looks toward the owner to see if she is looking, turns away and puts the item in his left front pocket of the sweatpants. The male then quickly grabbed another item and places it in the same pocket. As soon as the second item is placed in his pocket, the male and female slowly walk away from the lotions.

The owner provided the officer a copy of the video and said she did not recognize either party. The owner also said she was unable to see the vehicle that they came in. The owner requested that when the duo were found, they be issued trespassing letters notifying them they are no longer allowed on the property. The officer was working on locating the male and female and noted that the duo would be cited for retail theft when found.

■ ■ February 10 - An officer observed a vehicle traveling south on Hwy. 13 in Colby. The officer ran the registration of the vehicle and it showed the owner’s name, but no date of birth was listed. The officer looked up the man on Wisconsin Circuit Court records and observed there to be an open case through Marathon County for the man. The open case showed that there was a warrant issued.

The officer made a traffic stop of the vehicle and made contact with the driver. The driver was the same person listed on the registration. The man was notified that he had a warrant issued for his arrest and the man said he thought his court cases were all closed. The officer ran the man through dispatch who then confirmed that the man had a warrant through Marathon County.

The officer told the man his warrant was confirmed and the man was placed under arrest for intentionally failing to submit a biological specimen. The man was transported to the CAPD where he posted the full bond amount. He was then issued a new court date.

■ ■ February 17 - An officer was working in Abbotsford and observed a male walking from the sidewalk near the entrance to a bar in Abbotsford. The officer saw the male walk across the street to the sidewalk on the other side of the road. The officer saw the male had a beer bottle in his hand. The man walked into the north parking lot of 203 North First Street and walked near a parked car.

The officer activated his emergency lights as the male was in violation of an Abbotsford City Ordinance. The officer made his way towards the man who had opened the rear passenger door to a vehicle and then shut the door.

The officer made contact with the male who now did not have a beer bottle in his hand. The officer asked the man where he put the beer and he said he did not have one. Where the man was standing, the officer observed a fresh liquid mark on the parking lot. The liquid was a similar color to beer. The officer told the man he had poured the beer out and again asked what the male had in his hands. The male bent down by the vehicle and grabbed a beer bottle from underneath the car which was now empty. The officer told the man he could not have open containers on the street. The officer asked the man where he had gotten the beer from and he pointed towards the bar he had just walked from.

The officer completed a citation and issued it to the man who was then released from the scene.

The officer then completed a bar walk through at the bar the man had come from with two other officers. The officer was immediately greeted by the bar owner. The owner asked the officer if everything was OK and the officer told her they were just checking on the bar. The officer also advised the owner that a patron of the bar had left the bar with an open container. The owner wished to speak with the officers outside. The officer agreed.

The officer asked the owner if she was the owner of the liquor license for the establishment. The woman said she was. The officer gave her a citation for allowing a patron to leave the premise with an open container.

■ ■ February 17 - An officer was working in Colby and observed a truck traveling east in front of his patrol squad. The officer observed the vehicle come to a slow stop with the vehicle’s left turn signal activated. The officer observed the vehicle stop approximately five yards before the stop sign line. The vehicle then started driving forward from a stop and entered South Division Street traveling north. The officer understood that where the vehicle had stopped, in comparison to the stop sign line, was far enough away from South Division Street that the driver could not observe perpendicular, north and southbound traffic on South Division Street. The driver conducted an improper turn, taking the furthest lane.

The officer initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver. The officer told the driver the reason for the stop and while speaking to him, the officer noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and glossy. The officer could also smell the strong odor of intoxicants coming from inside the vehicle. The driver said he had six beers.

The officer returned to his squad car and conducted a

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records request of the driver. The driver had a revoked driving status, a 0.02 alcohol concentration restriction and an ignition interlock device requirement.

The officer asked the man if he would perform field sobriety tests and the man agreed. The man was transported to the Colby Fire Department building due to cold temperatures. After the tests, the man consented to a preliminary breath test. The result of the breath test was 0.15.

The man was placed under arrest for operating while under the influence. The man was transported to the CAPD. He then was issued a citation for improper stop, failure to install an IID, operating while revoked (criminal), operating while under the influence (second offense) and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration (second offense). The man was then released to a responsible party.

■ ■ February 18 - An officer was dispatched to a residence in Colby for an inadvertent 911 call. Dispatch made contact with a female caller and not much additional information was gathered.

The officer arrived on-scene, went to the apartment complex and knocked on the door. Officers made contact with a male individual at the apartment. Due to the unknown nature of the inadvertent 911 call, officers asked the man if he could check the apartment. The man agreed and the officers checked the apartment, locating one male roommate who was sleeping. No other individuals were located inside. The officers asked the man who answered the door what had happened. The man said the caller owed money on his vehicle, but the officers were unable to understand what the man was referring to. It was later learned that the vehicle the man was speaking about had been previously registered to the caller.

The registration was suspended due to unpaid parking tickets. The man said the woman came to the apartment telling him that she was going to take the plates from the vehicle forcefully. The man said there was no altercation that occurred inside the residence. The man wished to show officers the vehicle outside and provide the officers with paperwork.

The man showed the officers the vehicle and did not provide exactly what the intentions of the caller were. It appeared that the caller may have thought that the previous plates were still on the vehicle and wished to remove them. Officers advised the man that he was the registered owner of the vehicle. The officers told the man to call law enforcement if the caller returned inquiring about the car and if the license plates were removed.