Ogdensburg teen faces fifth auto theft charge

By Robert Cloud

An Ogdensburg teen convicted of auto theft was arrested again in a stolen car.

Dominic M. Schuelke, 18, was charged with operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, burglary, misdemeanor theft and escape from custody.

On Jan. 4, Schuelke was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of auto theft. The charges had been amended from felonies to misdemeanors as part of a plea deal between prosecutor James Fassbender and defense attorney Tom Johnson. Charges of auto theft, burglary, theft and illegal possession of prescription drugs were dismissed and read into the record.

Judge Philip Kirk placed Schuelke on two years of probation and sentenced him to 54 days in county jail. He was released on Feb. 27, his 18th birthday.

Kirk also ordered Schuelke to pay $7,190 in restitution and court costs. Had Schuelke successfully completed his probation, his court record would have been expunged.

Shortly after 7 a.m. April 20, Waupaca County Deputy Pete Kraeger was dispatched to a home on County Trunk E in the town of Lind. The caller reported that a man parked a black Honda Civic and urinated in her driveway.

While Kraeger was enroute to County E, dispatch reported that the Honda had left the driveway and was last seen heading toward Waupaca.

Kraeger was driving on Tower Road south of Ware Street in Waupaca when he saw the black Honda. He turned his squad car around and activated his emergency lights to stop the vehicle.

The Honda pulled into the parking lot of CAP Services on Tower Road.

Kraeger questioned the driver, identified as Schuelke, about the incident on County E.

According to the criminal complaint, Schuelke said the Honda belonged to a friend who lived on County E. He said the friend was possibly the one who urinated on the driveway.

When Kraeger ran a records check, he discovered that Schuelke’s friend actually lived on Hillcrest Drive in the city of Waupaca. The vehicle was not registered to the friend, but to a man living in Lind.

Dispatch also informed Kraeger that there was a warrant for Schuelke’s arrest.

As Kraeger was handcuffing him, Schuelke reportedly slipped the deputy’s grasp and took off running down a trail that runs between Ware Street and the railroad tracks.

Kraeger pursued Schuelke on foot and called for assistance. Deputies Patrick McClone and Tim Meyers responded.

McClone captured Schuelke and held him to the ground while Kraeger handcuffed him.

Kraeger returned to the parking lot and searched Schuelke’s vehicle. He found two opened bottles of whiskey, including one labeled “Military Special Fine Blended Whiskey.”

Kraeger then went to the registered owner of the Honda, who said the vehicle had been parked in the driveway, unlocked with the keys in it. The owner did not recognize the names of Schuelke or his friend.

Kraeger later questioned Schuelke at the jail.

Schuelke told Kraeger that his friend let him borrow the car and he did not realize it was stolen, the complaint says.

The friend told Kraeger that he had been at another friend’s home on Royalton Street when Schuelke arrived driving the black Honda.

The friend said he was aware of Schuelke’s history of stealing cars, so he questioned him about the Honda.

Schuelke told his friend that his mother bought the car for $2,500, the complaint says.

Schuelke later picked up his girlfriend, took her to the residence on Royalton Street, then drove her back home.

The girlfriend lives with her mother on County E in Lind.

The girlfriend told Kraeger that after they left the home on Royalton Street, Schuelke parked the Honda in a driveway just a few houses down from her home.

At 2:32 p.m. on April 20, a woman called to report a burglary at her father’s home on Baldwin Road in Royalton.

She estimated that the break-in happened between 6 p.m. April 19 and 1:30 p.m. April 20.

Two bottles of whiskey were stolen. One of the bottles was a gift to her father from a relative serving in the military. It could only be purchased on military bases.

Schuelke was also cited for open intoxicants and operating while suspended.

He currently remains in custody on a $2,500 cash bond.