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News 04.21.17

21 April 2017 News


A Milwaukee man convicted in an armed home invasion in Fond du Lac receives a long prison sentence.  At a hearing, Fond du Lac judge Peter Grimm sentenced Xavier Young to 22 years in prison and 20 years extended supervision.    In February a jury found Young guilty of party to the crime of armed robbery and burglary.  Young was one of three men involved in a home invasion in June of 2014 with a handgun pointed at an infant child and his mother.   District Attorney Eric Toney says “thankfully no one suffered physical injuries.”

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An Illinois woman convicted of neglect in connection with the death of her infant son in Fond du Lac is going to prison.  Fond du Lac judge Gary Sharpe has sentenced Airrealle Smart to five years in prison followed by ten years of extended supervision.  Last month Smart entered what’s called an Alford plea to a charge of  neglecting a child  and neglecting a child causing death.   Under the plea Smart is convicted of the crime but does not admit guilt.  Police say Smart and her boyfriend were visiting friends at the Maplewood Commons apartments in July 2015 when the incident occurred.   Daniel Griffin was convicted in September of killing the 14 month old boy and seriously injuring the boy’s twin by standing on both children.  He was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

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Federal prosecutors have filed additional weapons charges against a Wisconsin man accused of stealing numerous firearms and sending a threating anti-government manifesto to President Donald Trump. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western of District of Wisconsin says Joseph Jakubowski now faces charges for allegedly stealing 18 firearms and two silencers and for being a felon in possession of firearms. His initial theft charges accounted for two firearms and two silencers. Authorities launched a nationwide manhunt for the 32-year-old after they said he burglarized a gun store in Janesville, Wisconsin and mailed a manifesto to the White House April 4. Officers captured Jakubowski on Friday while he camped at a Vernon County farm field. He is in federal custody without bond and also faces state ­­

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Wisconsin juvenile advocacy groups are asking a federal court to order the state to stop using solitary confinement at its youth correctional facilities. The ACLU of Wisconsin and the Juvenile Law Center filed the request Wednesday as part of a pending lawsuit alleging poor treatment of juveniles at the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake facilities. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says it can’t comment on pending litigation. The advocacy groups say as many as 20 percent of the juveniles at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake are in solitary confinement at any given time. The facilities house between 150 to 200 youth. The groups’ lawsuit also alleges youth are pepper-sprayed and shackled to tables and Wednesday’s filing requests a stop to those practices as well.

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Startups across the country could soon get a boost thanks to changes in federal rules that will make it easier for them to find local investors. In the past five years, more than 30 states have legalized state crowdfunding, an offshoot of equity crowdfunding that allows small companies to sell stock but limits the sales to residents of their own states. Fewer than 200 companies have tried it, partly because most are prohibited from sharing links to their crowdfunding campaigns on social media, crowdfunding’s primary fuel. That restriction will be lifted once states incorporate into their laws modernized federal rules taking effect Thursday. Supporters of state crowdfunding say part of the appeal is that local investors can help grow local companies. But it’s risky for investors since many startups fail.

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