Felony charges filed against Lindsay
Two people have accused Branden P.J. Lindsay of intentionally crashing his truck into their car and forcing it off the road.
Branden P.J. Lindsay, 24, Manawa, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of hit and run resulting in injury, identity theft to avoid penalty, criminal damage to property and operating while revoked.
Shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, Waupaca County Deputy Sara Besel was dispatched to County Trunk N in the town of Little Wolf in response to a reported hit-and-run crash.
The woman who called 911 said Lindsay smashed into the back of their car, forcing them into a ditch.
She said Lindsay left the scene, driving a black Ford F150.
When she arrived at the scene, Besel did not find any vehicles, but saw fragments of broken tail lights and pieces of shattered safety glass consistent with a crash.
She also observed tire tracks leading from the apparent point of impact into the ditch, then back out of the ditch onto the road.
Besel checked the area, but did not see a truck matching the caller’s description.
Dispatch advised Besel the female victim called 911 again and said she and the driver left the scene because they were afraid Lindsay may return.
The caller said she would wait in a Manawa parking lot to speak with an officer.
Besel found a man and a woman standing near a black Volkswagen Jetta with substantial rear-end damage.
The man, who had been driving the Jetta, said Lindsay made disparaging remarks about the man’s sister and the female passenger about two weeks earlier and he confronted him.
According to the criminal complaint, Lindsay allegedly went to the male victim’s home, pounded on the door and demanded to see him about an hour before the incident.
The male victim told Besel he refused to allow Lindsay into his home and told him to get off his property.
He said before Lindsay drove away in a black Ford F150, he threw something through the kitchen window.
The man needed to be at work by 4:30 a.m., and the woman did not want to be alone at his home, so he began driving her toward Manawa to stay with her parents.
Following the incident, the male victim was communicating via Snapchat with a man who was with Lindsay in the truck.
Lindsay allegedly wanted to meet with the male victim at Sandbur Corners on State Highway 161.
To avoid Lindsay, the male victim left Iola via County Trunk GG and used town roads to come out on State 161 near Club 161.
He then drove east on State 161, turned south on County Trunk K, and then followed County N toward Manawa.
Before he turned onto County N, the man noticed a black pickup truck following him.
He told Besel the truck was moving aggressively and swerving.
Just past the curve at the intersection of County N and Flater Road, the truck slammed into the back of the sedan and knocked it into the ditch.
Both the driver and the passenger reported suffering minor neck pains due to the crash.
They also reported finding Lindsay’s ID in their car, but had no idea how it got there.
Weyauwega Police Officer Rode located the black Ford F150 at the Cenex gas station on North Mill Street.
The driver identified himself as “J.J.”
But officers recognized him as Lindsay from prior contacts.
According to the criminal complaint, the front of the truck had damage consistent with a crash.
Lindsay was arrested and currently remains in custody on a $5,000 cash bond.
Prior court record
On Jan. 31, 2018, Waupaca County convicted Lindsay of a second OWI, sentenced him to 10 days in jail and revoked his driver’s license for 12 months. The court also sentenced to to 90 days in jail for resisting an officer.
Also on Jan. 31, 2018, Waupaca County revoked Lindsay’s September 2016 conviction for misdemeanor bail jumping and sentenced him to six months in jail.
That same day, the court revoked a September 2016 conviction for theft, revoked his probation and sentenced him to 90 days in jail.
On Feb. 20, 2020, Waupaca County convicted Lindsay of fleeing an officer and operating while revoked.
He was placed on two years of probation with the condition that he not operate a vehicle on a highway in this state unless authorized by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
On Aug. 27, 2020, Waupaca County convicted Lindsay of resisting an officer and sentenced him to 10 days in jail.