A Mukwa man once accused of shooting at a deputy is now accused of beating his wife.

James D. Dax, 62, is charged with aggravated battery and disorderly conduct, as acts of domestic abuse.

At 6:21 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, Waupaca County Sheriff’s Deputy Nate Nelson spoke to an anonymous caller who said Dax’s wife had contacted her and asked her for a ride because she was afraid of Dax and needed to get away from him.

Wisconsin State Trooper Mitchell Butterbrodt located the woman walking on Manske Road east of Bean City Road. He remained with her until Nelson arrived.

According to the criminal complaint, Dax’s wife told Nelson that Dax physically and verbally abused her almost every day and she could not take it any more.

The woman reportedly told Nelson that the previous night she had gone to the store and returned home with a few items missing from the grocery list.

Dax allegedly struck her on the back with his fist multiple times.

The woman then laid on a cot and waited for Dax to give her permission to go outside and do some chores, which he eventually did, the complaint says.

When the woman went back inside, Dax allegedly punched her in the back again, knocking her down, then began stomping on her legs.

According to Deputy Brittany Mathewson, Dax’s wife showed her purple and black bruises on her back.

She also told Nelson that she feared not only for herself, but for any officer who went to their home on Manske Road because Dax had previously shot a round at an officer.

2012 shooting incident

On May 25, 2012, Dax sent a rambling email to a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that accused the county and the township governments of corruption, discussed the Book of Revelation and being “watched by many of various types including from the air and in stores,” and mentioned speaking with a man with ties to the underworld who offered “a contract hit on anyone I wanted.”

The following evening, two Waupaca County deputies went to Dax’s home for a welfare check.

Deputy Chad Repinski pulled into Dax’s Manske Road driveway first, followed by Deputy Kevin Studzinski in a separate squad car.

Repinski reported that he saw a man walking toward him, yelling, “Get out of here!” The man was carrying a handgun, according to the criminal complaint filed in May 2012.

As Repinski was backing out of the driveway, he heard a gun fire.

The man, later identified as Dax, ran behind the garage.

Three more deputies arrived at the scene and officers notified neighbors to stay indoors and lock their doors and windows.

Studzinski used the PA on his squad car to tell Dax to put down the gun and walk out to the driveway with his hands up.

While the deputies were trying to communicate with Dax, his wife pulled up in her car.

She told the officers that Dax had become increasingly paranoid and believes that everyone was out to get him, according to the 2012 criminal complaint.

She also said she had told Dax earlier to pack his belongings and move out.

Later, a SWAT team arrived and cleared the area. They were unable to find Dax.

On May 29, 2012, two state agents arrested Dax in Madison after he made a call to the Division of Criminal Investigation and said he was afraid to go to the Waupaca County jail because the officers there were corrupt.

On June 6, 2013, Dax was convicted of the misdemeanor offenses of reckless endangerment with a weapon and resisting an officer.

He was placed on two years of probation with the conditions that he not possess any firearms, abide by any treatment recommended by his probation agent and take his prescribed medications. His probation ended on June 11, 2015.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on Aug. 31. As of Thursday, Sept. 7, he remains at large.