Crime and Court Roundup: Milwaukee judge announces his retirement

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MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee judge has announced his retirement, after his son was charged with killing a woman during the Labor Day weekend.

32-year-old James Donegan is accused of stabbing and strangling 45-year-old Teresa Boone in Milwaukee’s Kilbourn Reservoir Park on September second. Two days later, Circuit Judge Thomas Donegan wrote Governor Scott Walker to say he’ll retire effective November 30th. The letter was made public yesterday, after the governor sought candidates for Donegan’s replacement. Donegan – a circuit judge in Milwaukee for 20 years – did not mention his son’s criminal charges in his letter. He did say he wants to devote more time to making contributions for the community. Donegan said he spent about half his time in Milwaukee Children’s Court, and it gave him the best opportunity to help people make changes for the better. Donegan’s son James is jailed under a quarter-million-dollar bond, and he’s undergoing a mental evaluation. The judge has said that James has suffered from a mental illness – and recently, he had not been taking his medications.

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Madison Police have arrested a man wanted in a weekend murder. 25-year-old Dominique Hale was picked up around 9:30 last night. Officials said he was running from officers – but they caught him, and charges are expected sometime this week. Authorities said Hale stabbed 39-year-old Willie Taylor of Sun Prairie to death outside his girlfriend’s apartment in Fitchburg, just south of Madison. The woman was also wounded, and officials said Hale is a former boyfriend.

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A five-million-dollar bond was set yesterday for a man accused of murdering his ex-fiancee in Marshfield. 20-year-old Gabriel Campos turned himself into police last Saturday, a day after he allegedly slashed the throat of 18-year-old Maisie McCullough and stabbed her once in the back. Prosecutors have not filed charges yet, but Circuit Judge Nicholas Brazeau said Campos is suspected of first-degree intentional homicide. Wood County prosecutor Craig Lambert said the multi-million-dollar bond was justified because Campos has no job and no ties to the community – and that makes him a serious risk to flee if he doesn’t stay in jail. Marshfield Police Chief Gary Jepsen said four investigators from his department and the State Crime Lab are working full-time on the case. The chief said Campos, who’s also known as Derek Olson, is the only suspect. Officers found McCullough’s body late Friday night at the home she shared with Campos and their two-year-old son on Marshfield’s east side. Officials said the boy was with Campos when he called police from a motel room in Wisconsin Rapids. Reports said he and McCullough recently agreed to end their relationship. The woman was reported planning to move into her own home and study to become a nurse.

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A woman who lost her three sons in a house fire in Argyle also lost an unborn child she was carrying. The woman’s mother-in-law, Barbara Wand, told the Wisconsin State Journal that the children’s mother Sharon ran in to save the kids. But a beam fell on her – and the 17-week-old child she was carrying died from the injuries. Seven-year-old Allen Wand, five-year-old Jeffrey, and three-year-old Joseph were killed in last Friday’s fire at their home. Their father, Armin Wand the Third, was arrested along with their 18-year-old uncle Jeremy Wand. They’re under arrest for suspicion of arson. But the men’s father, Armin Wand Junior, tells the State Journal of Madison that his sons didn’t do anything wrong. He said the house had poor wiring, and investigators had said it was possible that lightning struck the home. Barbara Wand says arson should be ruled out for that reason. The state Justice Department said yesterday it would take over the prosecution of the case. No charges have been filed as of this morning.

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