Crime and Court Roundup: Father of BRF escapee facing drug charges himself

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The father of a prisoner who allegedly caused a crime spree in Wisconsin and Florida is facing drug charges in Juneau County. 41-year-old James D. Misleveck of Elroy is free on a signature bond, and is due back in court August 22nd. According to prosecutors, police were checking out a report that fugitive James Cody Misleveck was in Elroy last Thursday. They couldn’t find him – but when they checked the home of the fugitive’s father, they found marijuana plants and growing tents. The elder Misleveck now faces two felony counts of manufacturing narcotics and maintaining a drug trafficking place, and two misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The younger Misleveck and James Newman escaped 10 days ago from the state’s Black River Falls prison boot camp. Over the next day, police said they stole four vehicles and a shotgun, kidnapped a casino worker, and led officers on a chase and manhunt. That was a day before the possible Elroy sighting. Authorities said the 18-year-old Misleveck and Newman drove to Florida, where they allegedly attacked a convenience store clerk and got into a police chase before they were finally arrested. They return to court on Monday in Brevard County Florida, as prosecutors decide how to proceed with their Florida and Wisconsin cases. Both men also face federal gun charges.

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There’s a new twist in the case of a Milwaukee woman charged with pulling a baby out of a pregnant woman last fall, and killing them both. Circuit Judge David Borowski wanted to know why prosecutors decided not to charge the lead police investigator in the case, after he was arrested and jailed last month for an alleged sexual assault. The defense in the baby case also wants records about Rodolfo Gomez’s arrest. Attorneys for Annette Morales-Rodriguez are concerned that the prosecution is trying to shield information about the officer’s case, to protect his credibility before a jury should Morales-Rodriguez go on trial. Morales-Rodriguez is charged in the deaths of 23-year-old Martiza Ramirez-Cruz and her unborn son. Prosecutor Jon Neulieb spent an hour under questioning in a courtroom yesterday about the decision not to charge Gomez. Neulieb said the officer was suspected of pushing and sexually assaulting a woman on three occasions in May and June – and the victim did not want to press charges. The prosecutor denied knowing about Gomez’s role in the baby death case – or whether it played a role in the decision not charge the officer. Borowski will review the records before deciding whether the defense should have them.

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