4/5/24 Hometown Broadcasting News Friday
5 April 2024 News
EDEN MAN CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE COUNTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD
Bond was set yesterday at $500,000 cash for a 44-year-old Eden man suspected of sexual abuse of a child. Timothy Thorn was arrested on April 1st after the victim and her friend told Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies on March 31st about several sexual assaults. The assaults allegedly occurred between December 2022 and March of this year at his home. Thorn faces 7 felony counts of 2nd degree sexual assault of a child, causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity, exposing genitals, and a misdemeanor charge of intimidation of a victim. According to the criminal complaint the victim allowed officers to view and extract messages on her cellphone, finding nearly 4,000 messages between her and Thorn, many of them sexual in nature. Officers also found a message from Thorn from March 30th telling her to delete the messages and lie to cops about what he had done to her. Officers interviewed him on April 1st. He allegedly admitted to the assaults but said that it happened over the span of two months starting last November. Messages extracted from the victim’s phone contradict the statement. A preliminary hearing in the Fond du Lac County case is scheduled on May 17th. (Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s photo).
FDL ATTEMPTED MURDER SUSPECT BOUND OVER FOR TRIAL
The 50-year-old Fond du Lac man suspected of trying to kill his wife last month has been bound over for trial. Fermin Teodoro Lopez-Mendoza waived his preliminary hearing in Fond du Lac County court yesterday. He is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, mayhem, first degree reckless injury, and aggravated battery. According to the criminal complaint his family was kicking him out of their home on County Road K on March 22nd after a long history of domestic violence. He argued with his wife and at some point stabbed her with a kitchen knife in the stomach three times. He fled the residence in his vehicle and was picked up the next day during a traffic stop in Ozaukee County. The victim was taken to the hospital for surgery. Lopez-Mendoza is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail on a $2 million cash bond.
FORMER WAUPUN INMATE FOUND GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED MURDER
A Dodge County jury this week found a former inmate at Waupun Correctional Institution guilty of attempted first degree intentional homicide in the stabbing of a corrections officer. Forty-four-year-old Gregg Phillips is now being housed at Green Bay Correctional. On Christmas Eve in 2019 Phillips stabbed the guard with a shank in the recreational area at Waupun Correctional. The officer was stabbed 13 times in the upper back, neck and head. The prison guard was able to deflect about half of the stabbing motions. Phillips was convicted in 2005 of killing his girlfriend and a bystander at the Comfort Suites in Oak Creek the year before. He is already serving life in prison for that double-homicide.
OSHKOSH BOMB SCARE SUSPECT ASKS FOR COMPETENCY EVALUATION
The 65-year-old Clintonville woman suspected of calling in a bomb threat to an Oshkosh Synagogue has asked for a competency evaluation. Winnebago County Judge Michael Rust granted the request from Pauline Beyer’s attorney yesterday. According to the criminal complaint Beyer called the synagogue on January 29th and spoke to a religious leader telling him, “I’m going to bomb your church in 2 hours.” That religious leader called police. A Winnebago County investigator got a call from Beyer, who said police had reached out to her and she was calling about the bomb threat. Beyer said she made the bomb threat to get the FBI to come to her house. She claimed she was being held hostage in her home by the Clintonville Police Department. She said calls to Waupaca County 911, Aging and Disability, and other agencies weren’t helping. Beyer is charged with making a bomb threat.
JESSE VANG BOUND OVER FOR TRIAL
The 39-year-old Two Rivers man who was caring for 3-year-old Elijah Vue when the toddler was reported missing has been bound over for trial. Jesse Vang was in Manitowoc County court yesterday for a preliminary hearing. Two detectives with the Two Rivers Police Department testified during the hearing. Judge Robert Dewane found probable cause a felony was committed and bound Vang over for trial. Vang will be arraigned on April 16th. Meanwhile Vue’s mother, 31-year-old Katrina Baur, will be back in Manitowoc County on April 26th. Search efforts continue for Vue who has been missing since February 20th.
FDL JOB FAIR
More than 70 employers from various industries, including office, service, manufacturing, healthcare, and other professional positions will be looking for their next new hires at the Fond du Lac Regional Job Fair. It will be held at the Fond du Lac Expo Center on the County Fairgrounds from 1 to 4 pm on Thursday, April 18th. Job seekers of all skill levels can connect directly with hiring managers and learn about available positions. Some companies will even conduct on-site interviews. Job seekers are encouraged to bring resumes to share and to dress for the career they want. A complete list of employers registered as of April 1st is available online. Individuals interested in a resume refresh are urged to contact the Fox Cities Job Center in Menasha at 920-997-3272. Appointments can be made for in-person or virtual sessions.
COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY
During the next month a random selection of 2,000 Fond du Lac County addresses will be mailed a Community Health Survey. A household resident over the age of 18 will be asked to complete the survey online or return a completed paper copy of the survey in the mail. County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says, “Your responses are invaluable to this project and informs an assessment which helps identify health priorities to focus on ways to improve the quality of life for community residents.” The survey focuses on issues such as access to health care, nutrition, food security, substance use, mental health, chronic disease and more. The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete, and responses are completely confidential. There is also an online version of the public input survey at the Fond du Lac County Health Department’s website. The survey will take less than 5 minutes to complete and will close on May 17th. Hard copies of the survey are also available at the health department in Fond du Lac.
Healthy Fond du Lac County | Fond du Lac County (wi.gov)
CONGRESSMAN GROTHMAN TOWN HALL MEETINGS
Congressman Glenn Grothman will be holding four town hall meetings on April 23rd and April 25th. On Tuesday, April 23rd he will be at the Valders Community Center in Valders from 10:30 to 11:30 am and at the Village of Fredonia offices in Fredonia from 2 to 3 pm that afternoon. On Thursday, April 25th he will at the Columbia County Highway Department offices in Wyocena from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and at the Berlin Town Hall in Berlin from 3:15 to 4:15 pm. Congressman Grothman is serving his fifth term representing Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District.
HUNTER EDUCATION INSTRUCTORS NEEDED
The state’s Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers to serve as certified hunter education instructors. Volunteer opportunities are available in all parts of the state. There are two ways to become a certified volunteer hunter education instructor. Interested volunteers can either serve as an apprentice under a sponsoring instructor for at least two complete courses or attend a certification training session hosted by a DNR Outdoor Skills Trainer. For more information about becoming a volunteer instructor or applying visit the DNR’s website. Since the program’s creation in 1967, more than 20,000 volunteer instructors have trained and certified more than one million hunters across Wisconsin. Those efforts have directly contributed to a significant decrease in hunting-related incidents.
CALL BEFORE YOU DIG
Alliant Energy encourages residents and contractors to call 811 before any digging projects. A quick call to 811 or click on call811.com prior to planting trees or shrubs, fencing a yard or building a playset can prevent a fine or potentially dangerous accident with gas or electric lines. The announcement coincides with National Safe Digging Month. Spring is a popular time for digging projects, and April is a month to acknowledge the hazards and raise awareness of safe digging practices. It’s not just about the call, it’s the law and it can keep you and your neighbors safe. 811 is a national, free service available year-round. After you call 811 to describe where and when you plan to dig, utilities mark the locations of buried lines with high-visibility paint or flags. Yellow paint or markings indicate buried natural gas lines: red paint or markings identify electric lines.
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