5/13/25 Hometown Broadcasting News Tuesday
13 May 2025 News
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GUILTY OF TRAFFICKING HER DAUGHTER
A 34-year-old illegal immigrant Monday pled guilty to human trafficking charges in Fond du Lac County Court. Elia Antonio also pled guilty to a charge of failure to protect a child, and two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. Judge Laura Lavey found her guilty and revoked her bond. Antonio will be sentenced after her co-defendant, Juan Carlos Rocha Mejia’s jury trial next month. The 32-year-old was also in the country illegally. Antonio’s convictions stem from an alleged sexual assault of her 12-year-old daughter, who she provided to Rocha Mejia on May 18th, 2024 for approximately $250. Rocha Mejia was arrested during a SWAT operation the following day after Sheriff’s deputies responded to a Town of Oakfield home. The girl showed up there after breaking away from Rocha Mejia who had her in a van and was trying to tie her down, blindfold, and sexually assault her. District Attorney Eric Toney says help is available to human trafficking victims by calling a national hotline at 888-373-7888 or texting “INFO” to 233733. Local resources are also available through ASTOP’s 24 hour crisis line 920-926-5395.
ARKANSAS MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY ABDUCTED BEAVER DAM GIRL FEDERALLY INDICTED
Federal charges were filed last week against a 40-year-old Arkansas man suspected of taking a pregnant Beaver Dam teen across the country. Last Tuesday charges were filed against Gary Day in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas. A federal grand jury is indicting him on multiple counts of having sex with a minor, traveling for the purposed of unlawful sex with a minor, sexual exploitation of a child, and possessing an image of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Day and 17-year-old Sophia Franklin were at the center of multiple Amber Alerts in Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Missouri. Day is believed to be the father of Franklin’s unborn child. The two were taken into custody at a Love’s Truck Stop in Sarpy County, Nebraska on April 2nd. Day was arrested and Franklin was returned to her family. Franklin was 16 and three months pregnant when an Amber Alert was issued in Wisconsin in February. Day is scheduled to be arraigned on Wisconsin charges in Dodge County Court on June 3rd. He will be in Eastern Arkansas federal court on May 27th.
JUNEAU COUNTY WILDFIRE CONTAINED
The state’s Department of Natural Resources says fire crews and local agencies were able to bring the roughly 80-acre Warthog Fire in Juneau County under control last evening. Approximately 40 homes were evacuated in the town of Kingston and the community of Mather. The fire originated in the town of Cutler. The cause is under investigation. Blackhawk helicopters were used to make water drops to help reinforce containment lines. Fire danger in Wisconsin ranges from high to extremely high for all but 12 of the state’s 72 counties and those dozen counties are at moderate risk. (DNR photo).
FIRE ALONGSIDE RR TRACKS IN FDL
Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue responded to a fire along some railroad tracks on Western Avenue in Fond du Lac late Monday morning. A fire crew found vegetation burning along the tracks. The fire extended to a nearby yard where a resident was doing some burning. The resident was warned and given a copy of city’s burn ordinance. Fire Department officials say nearly 50 percent of wildfires in Wisconsin are caused by the intentional burning of debris. Due to the current dry conditions across the state, the risk of outdoor fires is significantly elevated. (Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue photo).
HAMBURG AND HENNIE STREET RECONSTRUCTION IN RIPON
Construction began on the Hamburg and Hennie Street road/utility reconstruction project in Ripon at the end of last month. Police Chief Bill Wallner says he recently checked it out and the pavement has been removed for the underground utility work. He says it should be avoided for a couple of months while the work is going on. He says if you’re going up that way to visit a friend or relative it might be a good idea to call them first. Improvements are being made on Hamburg Street from just north of the Silver Creek bridge to Oshkosh Street and on Hennie Street from Hamburg Street to Pacific Street. The city did receive a $1 million Community Development Block Grant from the state to help with costs for the project.
STATE HIGHWAY 91 INFORMATION MEETING
The state’s Department of Transportation will hold a live, online construction information meeting next Monday to discuss construction scope, schedule, and traffic impacts for a highway improvement project in Winnebago County. The nearly 15 mile project on State Highway 91 will extend from the west Winnebago County line to just west of State Highway 44. It’s a $9.1 million project. Meeting attendees will access the live Microsoft Teams meeting via the new State Highway 91 construction website. Project engineers will share construction maps, road closure information, detour displays, schedule of operations, and temporary signing permits for businesses impacted by road construction. The meeting is at 4 pm next Monday.
Project Overview – WIS 91 – Winnebago County
DODGE COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL CEREMONY TOMORROW
The Dodge County Law Enforcement Executives are inviting the public to the annual Dodge County Law Enforcement Memorial ceremony. It is at 11 am tomorrow morning at the Dodge County Law Enforcement Memorial Site in front of the Dodge County Administration Building in Juneau. The keynote speak is Assistant District Attorney Maggie Kunisch, who has worked closely with law enforcement as a prosecutor but also has a perspective as the spouse of a law enforcement officer who was injured in the line of duty. The law enforcement memorial ceremony will remember the 12 law enforcement officers who have been lost in the line of duty in Dodge County or have a connection to Dodge County.
WATCH OUT FOR MILITARY SCAMS
With May being Military Appreciation Month, the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection are warning veterans and those serving in the military about the variety of scams out there targeting them. Michelle Reinen is the Administrator for the Division of Trade and Consumer Protection. She says some scams involve paying upfront fees for services promising to maximize benefits or guaranteeing loans or credit accounts. She says those loans and accounts could have high fees and interest rates. Other scammers target veterans’ benefits promising a favorable outcome. She cautions not to let those scammers send you blank forms they will assure they will be filling out correctly later. Reinen also warns about pension poachers who claim they can help you qualify for pension benefits. The poacher gets paid up front, but the claimant may need to repay any benefits they receive when the VA later finds their eligibility was not valid.
NEW JAIL ROSTER FEATURE ON FDL COUNTY SHERIFF’S WEBSITE
New to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s website is a real-time inmate search function. It is located on the homepage. Just click the “Current Inmates” button which sends you to a live jail roster. The first time you use it there may be a short delay while your web browser loads the data. Once there click on the “Detail” button next to an inmate name. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Captain Jim Borgen says it will give you more specific information about the inmate including a mugshot, bond amount, date and time of booking, arresting agency, charges, and a link to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program for court case details. Clicking on the mugshot will open a larger image that can be downloaded and saved. The website is a live look at the jail inmate roster and refreshes with any new changes every 10 minutes.
TRAILER TECHNICIAN TRAINEES GRADUATE
The Fox Valley Workforce Development Board, Master Fleet, LLC, and Fox Valley Technical College celebrated the first cohort of Trailer Technician trainees in a graduation ceremony April 30th at Fox Valley Technical College’s J.J. Keller Transportation Center. Trainees received 80 hours of customized instruction spanning two levels of training from FVTC that increased service capacity to address industry needs and ensured employees have the skills needed to properly maintain semi-trailers. For trainees, this provided career advancement. The training was made possible by a Wisconsin Fast Forward Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. The grant award of $116,600 was used to train 20 Master Fleet employees.
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR BREAKFAST ON THE FARM
Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Agri-Business Council will host the 36th annual Breakfast on the Farm on Sunday, June 22nd from 8 am to Noon at Pollack Dairy at N9017 Van Dyne Road, in Van Dyne. Tickets are $10 for those 13 and older, $8 for ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and under can eat for free. Tickets can be purchased on Envision’s website under the events tab, Beans & Bites in North Fond du Lac, Bristol Morgan Bank in Van Dyne, all Fond du Lac County National Exchange Bank & Trust locations, both Fond du Lac Horicon Bank locations, and Fox Valley Savings Bank in Fond du Lac. Free parking and shuttle service will be available from Friendship Learning Center in North Fond du Lac or Van Dyne Lions Community Park. General and handicap parking is also available at the farm. From the delicious, farm-fresh breakfast to educational displays to farm tours and children’s activities, there is something for everyone to enjoy at Breakfast on the Farm!
Calendar #events# – Envision Greater Fond du Lac
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