WLIP K-Town Rewind 1/18/19

The four men accused in a fatal home invasion appeared in court yesterday. 20 year old Augustine Jesus Sanchez, 23 year old Anthony Lee Harris, 19 year old Demarco Hudson, and 23 year old Markeith Wilson all pleaded not guilty for the murder of 23 year old Joseph Riley in November of last year. The incident led to a manhunt that lasted through the following morning. The four allegedly broke into Riley’s Salem Lakes home the night of November 15th with the intent to rob cash and drugs. According to court records, the four went to Riley’s home the night before with the same intention. The next night one of the men reportedly kicked down the door which led to a gun fight between the suspect and Riley. Riley ended up dead and another woman in the home was injured. The four are in jail on 1 million dollars bond each and are due back in court in March.

We have more information about the fatal accident that happened on Saturday. Police say 51 year old Jeffery Etlicher of Union Grove was walking with traffic in the northbound lane of Highway H just north of Highway S in Somers. He was struck by a sedan driven by a 31 year old woman just before 3 AM, and was found by the responding officers in a ditch with severe injuries. He passed away a short time later. Police reports say that the man was wearing dark clothing and that there are no lights in that area. The driver cooperated with authorities. No one in the car was injured. No charges have been filed.

A 14-year-old girl is accused of stabbing her father in the face after they argued about her online relationship. Police were called to an apartment in Twin Lakes Sunday where they found the wounded father. Investigators say they learned the 38-year-old man and his daughter were arguing about the online relationship before she attacked him in the living room. According to reports, the girl’s mother told police she heard the man yell and saw her daughter standing near her father with two large kitchen knives. Authorities say the man was able to hold the girl down on the floor while the mother called police. The father was treated at a hospital. The girl was arrested and taken to a juvenile detention facility.

Governor Tony Evers will be in Kenosha later this month. The Kenosha News reports that Evers will speak at UAW Local 72’s 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr Day event on January 26th. Evers replaces Lt Gov Mandela Barnes who was originally slated to speak. However Barnes was overscheduled for that day and so Evers will fill in. Evers will be joined by other guest speaks as well including Milwaukee County Supervisor Marcella Nicholson and Judge Lisa Neubauer. The event will be held at the UAW Local 72 Hall, and gets underway at 5:30. Tickets are for sale to the public.

Michael Bell’s quest for a new investigation into his son’s death continues. Michael Bell Jr was shot and killed in a confrontation with Kenosha Police in 2004. Two days later the officers involved were cleared in the case. Since then Bell has worked to reopen the case, requesting a John Doe investigation. A Racine judge will decide whether one is necessary. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley submitted his reasons to the judge as to why he hasn’t opened a new inquiry. If the judge agrees, a special prosecutor may be appointed to take up the investigation. Bell previously reached a settlement with the city of Kenosha worth more than a million dollars. He also successfully lobbied for a change in Wisconsin law in which law enforcement related deaths must be investigated by an outside agency.

Multiple police calls may cause a Kenosha tavern to lose their cabaret license. Red Zone, a bar on the 48-hundred block of Sheridan Road is at the center of the controversy. Police records show that officers have responded to the business 18 times since mid-November with complaints ranging from noise to alleged fights and battery. That’s caused the Kenosha Licensing and Permit committee to recommend the license revocation. Red Zone’s owner disputed that claim at Monday’s meeting. He and his representative questioned the motives of the committee, saying the they were targeting the establishment over the hip-hop music played there. Red Zone has not received any demerit points-although that does not mean the license cannot be revoked. The City Council will take up the matter at its January 23rd meeting.

As the city of Kenosha works to upgrade its infrastructure beyond road repair, one of the pressing issues is sediment buildup in Kenosha Harbor. The city has had to repeatedly dredge the harbor so that it can remain accessible for boat traffic. Now the city is considering two possible long term solutions for the problem. The first option places a break water north of the north pier and could last 20 years. It costs around 4 million dollars and may be paid for with grant money. The alternative is extending the north pier, keeping the current out of the harbor. This option costs less but requires special permitting from the army corps of engineers and could cause navigation concerns.