Ogdensburg suspect faces meth charges
By Robert Cloud
Cyril A. Franz, 40, Ogdensburg, is charged with reckless endangerment, fleeing an officer and false imprisonment for a March 12 incident.
He is also charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of THC and drug paraphernalia and obstructing an officer following execution of a March 23 search warrant.
On the afternoon of Sunday, March 12, Waupaca County Deputy Adam Labrosse called Deputy Adam Lange and said he believed a black Honda was trying to ditch him.
Labrosse believed Franz was driving the vehicle because it was registered to Bonnie J. Piskorski, who lives at the same address as Franz. He also recognized Franz from prior contacts.
At the time, Franz had an expired driver’s license and an active Department of Corrections warrant.
According to the criminal complaint, Lange was eastbound on State Highway 54 in rural Waupaca when he saw the vehicle traveling westbound near County Trunk KK.
Due to the window tint, weather conditions and closing speed of the vehicles, Lange could not identify the driver, the complaint says.
Lange made a U-turn and began following the vehicle, which he reported began accelerating. His radar indicated the vehicle was traveling over 100 mph.
Lange activated his emergency lights and siren and notified dispatch of the pursuit.
As the vehicle approached the roundabout on Waupaca’s east side, Patrol Sgt. Dan Lewinski advised Lange to terminate the pursuit.
Lange deactivated his siren and emergency lights, then pulled over on State 54 east of Axtell Road.
After waiting about 45 seconds, Lange began travelling westbound on State 54 again at normal speeds.
Lange estimated the pursuit reached speeds of up to 105 mph and covered 2.8 miles.
Investigators identify suspect
On March 17, Labrosse reviewed security video from a gas station on State Highway 110 in Weyauwega. It showed the suspect vehicle at the gas pumps and a man wearing a hooded, reflective jacket with a white cap exit the vehicle and pump gas.
A second man in dark clothing is seen walking from the gas station to the pump and climb into the back seat of the car.
The suspect vehicle left the gas station, turned onto Mill Street and drove north away from Weyauwega.
Lewinski and Labrosse later went to the gas station and spoke to the clerk, who said she recognized the second man because he lives nearby and comes into the store every night to buy pastries.
The clerk told the officers that the man prepaid for the gas for the suspect vehicle.
Lewinski and Labrosse then went to the second man’s house and asked him if he was in the vehicle involved in the pursuit.
The man said he was. He explained that earlier that day Erica Ducommun, 38, Ogdensburg, contacted him about helping her mother, Piskorski, get her car out of the truck stop. She reportedly said they needed someone with a valid license because Piskorski had injured her ankle.
Later, Franz called the man, arranged to meet him at the gas station and asked to borrow $10 to pay for the gas.
He got into the backseat of the vehicle because he thought Ducommun or Piskorski would be sitting in the front seat.
After leaving the gas station, the man said he noticed that Franz was not going toward U.S. Highway 10 as expected but was using back roads instead.
He said when Franz turned west onto State 54 at the La Margarita restaurant, at the intersection with North Shore Road in Weyauwega, he allegedly began speeding. The man saw that a patrol car was following them.
He told the deputies that he asked Franz to stop the car and let him out, but they did not stop.
The car continued west on State 54, then took the bypass and continued south on County Trunk A before Franz stopped and dropped the man off in Saxeville, where he called a friend for a ride home.
Search warrant
On March 23, Detectives Alec Brockman and Curtis Much, with the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant at a home in the town of St. Lawrence.
Piskorski opened the door and officer found Ducommun in a bedroom closet.
Then officers made forced entry through a locked service door into an unattached garage.
As Brockman entered the building, he saw a man climb a ladder into an attic, pull up the ladder and secure the door.
Officers “established a perimeter and attempted communication with the barricaded subject,” the complaint says.
Sgt. Clint Thobaben made contact with the man, who was identified as Franz.
After several minutes, Franz exited the attic and was taken into custody, where he remains on a $5,000 cash bond.
Franz had a necklace with a black cylinder. Residue in the cylinder tested positive for methamphetamine, the complaint says.
In the garage, officers also reported finding three syringes and 2.5 grams of meth.
The other two women living withe Franz also face drug-related charges.
Piskorski, 60, is charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place, encouraging parole violation and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Ducommun, 38, is charged with possession of an illegally obtained prescription drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and obstructing an officer.
Prior convictions
In April 2016, a Waupaca County jury convicted Franz of two felony counts of delivery of heroin and two counts of possession of heroin with intent to deliver., among other offenses.
He was later sentenced to 7 1/2 years in state prison, then released on extended supervision in April 2020.