Good News Out of Barron County, Wisconsin.

We're gonna try an assault case, and not settle for pleading it down:

Deal nixed, jury trial set in case of injured gay man
A plea agreement has not been reached, and a jury trial has been scheduled for Tuesday for a Rice Lake man accused of breaking two bones in a gay man's face. Rien L. Hendricks, 36, of 527 Phipps Ave. and his wife, Shannon, 37, who is an alleged accomplice in the crime, appeared in Barron County Circuit Court Wednesday for a hearing each on a charge of felony substantial battery as a party to a crime. Rien is accused of hitting Timothy R. Phares, 31, in the face with a 2-by-4 in the parking lot of Perkins restaurant in Rice Lake early March 17. The criminal complaint states that just prior to hitting him, Rien called Phares a "f---ing faggot." The vehicle in which Rien arrived and left the parking lot was driven by Shannon. Barron County District Attorney Angela Beranek has said she did not charge the Hendricks with a hate crime because the level of proof needed under Wisconsin law was not met in this case. She said she would have to prove that the defendant was solely motivated because the victim was gay.
Thursday, February 6, 2014

Good call...
Here's the back story.
-------------------------
*I know, it must sound small-town laughable to you... Applebee's employees mixing it up in the Perkins parking lot on St. Patrick's Day and all.  (except getting whacked unconscious with a 2x4 isn't fairly 'mixing it up'.)

To me, a sad thing is... this is a good region, with LOTS of good people who understand "Character Counts", who will judge you by the quality of your work and whether or not you stand on your own two feet. They're not haters or bigots.

Good solid people, keep to themselves.
Live and let live...

But they're quiet Christian like that too, so sometimes when you speak out or up, you end up standing alone, which can have consequences, at work say. (Read the article about how this conflict at the restaurant allegedly started.)

I sure felt it when I worked for the local Barron newspaper, some of the religious quack letters we ran gave an idea of who was out there, and I do think it influenced my editor in our coverage choices. (I'm thinking business and county board coverage here, not so much crime or drama stories.)

I hope the prosecutor, Assistant D.A.  Russell Berg, scores a win here.  He's up against the local defense attorney who represented the husband who in 2012 assaulted his wife into a brain-damaged state -- she was allegedly blue and dead on the floor when the paramedics arrived and got her out.

The judge credited "the grace of God that he didn't kill" her;  I'd credit the first responders' scientific training and practiced skills -- no doubt guided by God's hand that evening -- and the medical care and training she received in an Eau Claire hospital and nursing home during her 7-month coma.

The two kids -- her two kids -- who were at home when their mother was assaulted by her husband were old enough to testify, even if it was a hardship. Don't tell me we were protecting them by taking a guilty plea on lesser charges, when it sounds like only the fast response by the children, 9-11, and the first responders kept this from being a murder.

The criminal complaint states that the Birkenmeiers were arguing June 24, 2012 at around midnight when Birkenmeier allegedly hit Witkowski's head repeatedly against the wooden floor of the house to the point of her losing consciousness and suffering severe brain damage. Stacy's 12-year old daughter ran to the house of a neighbor who then called 911.

The boy, 15, allegedly was threatened himself when he heard the argument, screaming and thumping, and tried to intervene to help his mother...

What galled me most, I think was when the judge told the defendant:
"You are a real danger to the next person with whom you have a significant relationship" as he sentenced the 28-year-old to 10 years in prison, with credit for 491 days already served in jail while undergoing prosecution.

(So give him 15 to 20 years off a conviction on the stronger charges, to ensure his testosterone levels have dropped, and it's less likely he'll be able to start himself a whole new family once he gets out. Not like he didn't have prior episodes of violence.*)

I don't like that myself -- they 'clean up' in jail, with no temptations and a strict routine to follow, and look like choir boys before the judge. Then, the prison sentence is reduced too for time served.

Defense attorney Elizabeth Smith recommended that Birkenmeier be placed on probation. She did not plead Birkenmeier's case in court but said that Birkenmeier had prepared a letter he wanted to read to the judge. Birkenmeier told Babler that he'd been a U.S. Marine and served two tours of duty in Iraq. He said while growing up in Rice Lake, he attended parochial school and eventually became an Eagle Scout. He told the judge all he'd accomplished in his 16 months of jail while undergoing prosecution. He said he took advantage of all the programs offered in jail, including an anger management program and attending in-jail Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He said his faith in God had been restored and he's read the Bible three times and has lost 70 pounds.

Oy-vey, as our Jewish friends say...
-----------------------------

*[The district attorney] said this wasn't the first time that Birkenmeier got into trouble because of his anger. Beranek said that while he was in the Marines, Birkenmeier pointed a weapon at another Marine. She said after a fellow Barron County jail inmate flicked a playing card at Birkenmeier's head, the defendant grabbed the inmate by the throat, pushed him up against a wall, and told the inmate, "Don't f--- with me!"