Western Wisconsin News Briefs: La Crosse to get new police chief

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LA CROSSE - La Crosse is about to get its first new police chief in almost two decades. Waukesha Police Captain Ronald Tischer was offered the job yesterday. He’s expected to replace Ed Kondracki, who retired in April after 19 years in La Crosse and 28 years with the Milwaukee police force.

Kondracki was the second-longest serving police chief in La Crosse history. Assistant chief Rob Abraham has been serving as the acting chief since Kondracki left. Abraham was one of the finalists for the post, along with the chief in nearby Onalaska.

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A second man has pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of a 20 year old La Crosse woman. Kong Vue told a La Crosse County judge he panicked when he was taking a purse from Sarah Hougom’s house and found her on a couch. Vue says the shooting was accidental. He pleaded guilty to charges of reckless homicide yesterday. Pao Choua Vue pleaded guilty earlier this month. Sentencing for both men is tentatively scheduled for November 5.

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A west-central Wisconsin man was shot-and-wounded, apparently because he was tampering with the shooter’s marijuana crop. A 23-year-old man from Taylor was treated at a hospital and later released. Jackson County sheriff’s deputies said they arrested 61-year-old Michael “Ritch” Charles on a possible charge of first-degree reckless endangerment. He was in the Jackson County Jail at last word. Deputies said the suspect was upset with the victim and two friends, after learning that they were at a marijuana growing site to which he was tending. Officials said the victim was shot in the upper left back. Deputies recovered a 22-caliber rifle that was used in the incident, plus an undisclosed amount of pot.

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