Judge revokes plea agreement for former Colfax man accused of homicide
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Dunn County judge has revoked a deferred prosecution agreement for a traffic case dating back to 2017 involving Richard W. Seehaver.
Seehaver, age 53, who was charged with operating a motor vehicle while his driver’s license was revoked, appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court with his attorneys, Donna Burger and Shelly Tomtschik, before Judge Rod Smeltzer on September 10.
Seehaver also is charged with one felony count of first degree intentional homicide in connection with the death of 54-year-old John M. Likeness last December in Menomonie.
Seehaver and Likeness were both early 1980s graduates of Colfax High School, and according to the criminal complaint, Seehaver told investigators he had lived in the house in Menomonie with Likeness for a few months and had lived with Likeness in Cedar Falls before that.
Part of the plea agreement in the traffic case was that Seehaver was to refrain from committing any other crimes.
Judge Smeltzer revoked the deferred prosecution agreement and ordered Seehaver to pay $243 in court costs and a $200 DNA surcharge.
A $100 cash bail had been posted for the traffic case, and Judge Smeltzer ordered the bail money be applied to the court cost and DNA surcharge.
Regarding the charge of first degree intentional homicide, Tomtschik said she and Burger had not filed any motions in the case yet because they are waiting to receive all of the evidence from the prosecutor.
Computer issues that prevented the attorneys from watching videotapes of interviews have been resolved, but now the attorneys are playing “phone tag” to arrange for an expert assessment of Seehaver, Tomtschik said.
When Judge Smeltzer asked if all of the evidence had been provided to Tomtschik and Burger, Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Maki replied “yes” — 406 pages.
Judge Smeltzer also wanted to know if a copy of the autopsy report and the taped interviews had been provided to Tomtschik and Burger.
Maki said since he was not the prosecutor on the case, he “was not sure” if all the evidence had been turned over.
All of the computer disks, photographs and taped interviews should be turned over to the defense, Judge Smeltzer noted.
Tomtschik told the court one videotape had been “cut off,” and they needed a new copy of the full interview.
When Judge Smeltzer asked how much time the attorneys needed to review the evidence and to file any motions with the court, Burger suggested setting another status conference in 60 days.
A court hearing has been scheduled for December 3, and Judge Smeltzer indicated the deadline for filing motions would be 20 days after the next court hearing.
A $200,000 cash bail had been set for Seehaver January 2, but Judge Smeltzer increased the cash bail to $500,000 on January 14.
At the time of the September 10 court hearing, Seehaver remained in custody.
First-degree intentional homicide carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.