WLIP K-Town Rewind 2/8/19

Kenosha Police are investigating a man found deceased yesterday morning. The body of a 34 year old man was found in Lake Michigan off Southport Park near the beach house shortly after 8:30 AM. The body was discovered on the ice in the lake. The man had been deceased for about 12 hours or less. No cause of death was immediately apparent but there is not a threat to the public as this seems to be an isolated incident. The matter remains under investigation. The discovery initiated a water emergency, with calls for help going even to the Coast Guard. They were quickly called off as local first responders handled the scene.

The Pleasant Prairie man who allegedly shot his neighbor and robbed him in his home has been found competent to stand trial. The defense for 20 year old Justin Stapleton requested a mental health evaluation to see if he was competent to go to trial. The incident happened on October 22nd at the Westwood Estates on Highway H in the village. Stapleton allegedly went to the exterior of the victim’s bedroom and demanded a video game system and some games. That’s when the 15 year old victim was shot in among other areas of the body, the face, shoulder, and arm. He was left paralyzed from the waist down. Stapleton is charged with attempted homicide and armed robbery. He’ll be back in court next week.

The Kenosha City Council approved a second probationary cabaret license for Red Zone, two weeks after a permanent license was denied. The bar, in the 48-hundred block of Sheridan Road, had been the subject of complaints from the neighborhood and, after a lengthy discussion by the council two weeks ago, lost the right to play live music or have a DJ. Now Red Zone’s second probationary cabaret license was approved by a 15-1 vote. Council President Anthony Kennedy says that the city continues to work with the bar’s owner.

A Kenosha alderperson paid a fine for not getting proper licensing from the city for home repairs. 4th district alderwoman Holly Kangas said in a statement that the work dates to 2014, before she was in office. Kangas owned a now shuttered business that bought, repaired, and then sold houses. She says that she assumed that a hired contractor took out the proper licenses with the city, but they failed to do so. She paid a 561-dollar fine.

Controversy brewing over a Kenosha alderwoman who did not pull the proper permits for home repairs. 4th district alderwoman Holly Kangas said in a statement this week “This was not done intentionally and has resulted in citations being issued by the City of Kenosha which we immediately paid in full. We did not ask for nor did we receive any special treatment.” The work dates back to 2014, before Kangas was voted into office. The story caught on after a former Kenosha alderman alleged special treatment for Kangas; an allegation which was picked up by a Milwaukee T.V. station. Kangas paid a fine in excess of 500-dollars for the missed permits.

The man accused of assaulting two women on the Kenosha County Bike Trail has pleaded guilty. 32 year old Reginaldo Etienne was set to stand trial on sexual assault charges but entered the guilty plea instead. The incidents happened in March and May of last year along the 91-hundred block of the trail. The first assault victim was a 67 year old woman, the second an 18 year old woman. DNA evidence from that second assault led to the suspect. Etienne pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and could be sentenced to as many as 80 years in prison. Eight other counts were dropped as part of the plea deal. Etienne will be sentenced next month.

The empty buildings on the former Dairyland Greyhound Site in Kenosha will be razed, the only question is…when? The owners of the property took out permits with the city late last year. Demolition of the former dog kennels is underway, but we don’t know when the main building will be torn down. The owners, California based Majestic Realty, purchased the 228 acre property a year and a half ago for 14-point-5 million dollars. The previously announced plan has the area rebranded for redevelopment once demolition is complete. Dairyland Greyhound Park closed a decade ago due to slumping interest. The area was then the center of a proposal by the Menominee Tribe for a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. That project was rejected by then Governor Scott Walker during his ill fated presidential bid.

Kenosha officials are asking for ideas from the public for planned improvements for the city’s uptown neighborhood. As part of the reconstruction of 22nd avenue, the roadway between 60th and 64th streets will be torn up and redone beginning next year. An informational session will be held from 11 this morning until 7 tonight and again on Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Design and Imput Center on 22nd avenue and 62nd street. Officials say that the public will be able to add input on what upgrades should be installed during reconstruction.

Kenosha and Racine’s Shopko Stores will close. The company announcing that 139 more locations will shutter this spring as the retailer goes through bankruptcy. The local stores will close May 12th. The closures come after 39 stores in 19 states were closed late last year. In all 70 percent of Shopko stores will close. As to the services offered at the store-like the optical department-it’s unclear what the future will be. Shopko has opened independent optical centers in other markets. The Shopko pharmacy moved to the Kenosha Pick N Save on 75th street.

A police standoff in Trevor ended peacefully early this morning. Authorities were called to a home on 280th Avenue just after midnight this morning for a domestic violence situation involving a man and his girlfriend. The man finally surrendered to deputies around 4 AM. The woman is hospitalized with no word on her condition. We only have preliminary info on this case and crews remained on the scene investigating this morning. We’ll have more information as it becomes available.

A Wheatland man was saved from the icy water after his car slid off the road into the Fox River. The man was driving on Highway W just after 6 AM yesterday when he lost control of the vehicle and skidded into the River. When he was found, the car was upside down in the water and the 19 year old driver was now standing on the ice and was there for about a half hour. He was rescued by a passerby who went into the water and pulled him out. First responders arrived shortly after. The teen’s identity has not been released. He suffered hypothermia but is expected to be okay. The man who pulled the teen out of the water, Bill Fink, with the Kenosha County Highway Department is being hailed as a hero.

Additional charges have been filed in connection to the Pleasant Prairie home that was at the center of an alleged drug trafficking operation. 24 year old Sydney Bebo is accused of selling drugs including marijuana, meth, and cocaine. She is in jail on a probation hold from an earlier case involving a fatal crash in 2018. Inside the house at 8600 hundred Old Green Bay Road, the meth found was worth over 28-thousand dollars and investigators discovered 78-thousand dollars in cash. The other person on the home’s lease, Joey Del Real was charged last month in connection to the case. Bebo is charged with several felonies and is due in court next week.