Man discovered in Colfax garage sentenced to 12 months in jail, 6 years probation
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 48-year-old man found in a Colfax garage in August of 2018 with methamphetamine, marijuana, gem Baggies and drug paraphernalia has been sentenced to 12 months in jail and 6 years of probation.
Steven O. Johnson appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court before Judge James Peterson October 10 for a sentencing hearing.
Johnson was found guilty at a plea hearing in August of four felony counts of manufacturing and delivering methamphetamine; burglary; taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent and bail jumping as well as a misdemeanor count of retail theft of less than $500.
All together 21 counts were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing: one felony count of maintaining a drug trafficking place; 11 felony counts of bail jumping; two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine; two misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana; three misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia; and two misdemeanor counts of bail jumping.
The counts on which Johnson was found guilty and the counts that were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing covered multiple separate case files.
According to online court records, for the case file related to Johnson being found in a garage in Colfax on Railroad Avenue, Judge Peterson withheld sentencing and placed Johnson on six years of probation.
The judge ordered Johnson to pay $268 in court costs, a $250 DNA surcharge and a $10 drug surcharge.
Johnson also was ordered to complete Dunn County Treatment Court, to maintain absolute sobriety, to have no contact with the victims and to pay restitution to the property owners.
According to the criminal complaint, the Colfax Police Department received a call about a possible burglary at a home in the 600 block of East Railroad Avenue on August 7, 2018.
The Colfax officer spoke to the owners of the property who said their shed had been burglarized and that several items were not where they were supposed to be.
The property owner said he had checked the ground level of the shed and did not see anyone, but a ladder, which was not supposed to be there, was leaning up against the loft and there was a bag with a phone in it at the bottom of the ladder that did not
belong to either of the property owners.
The Colfax police officer searched the loft and found a man, later identified as Johnson, who appeared to be sleeping. The Colfax officer advised Dunn County dispatch of the situation. When a Dunn County deputy arrived at the scene, he said a warrant was out for Johnson’s arrest and the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department had been attempting to locate him earlier in the day, the complaint states.
After Johnson came down out of the loft, he told the officers he could not remember how he got to the shed, did not know where he was, and the last thing he remembered was being in Eau Claire.
Methamphetamine
On the case file for which Johnson was found guilty on one felony count of manufacturing or delivering methamphetamine, Judge Peterson imposed and stayed a prison sentence of four years of initial confinement and four years of extended supervision and ordered Johnson to serve 12 months in the county jail and placed him on probation for six years.
Probation is to be served concurrently with the probation ordered in the other case files.
Judge Peterson ordered Johnson to pay $268 in court costs and a $250 DNA surcharge.
The judge also ordered Johnson to pay restitution for the cost of extradition back to Wisconsin.
Bail jumping
For the count of felony bail jumping, Judge Peterson withheld sentencing and placed Johnson on three years of probation to be served concurrently with other probation
Johnson also was ordered to complete Dunn County Treatment Court, to maintain absolute sobriety and to pay $268 in court costs, a $250 DNA surcharge and a $10 drug surcharge.
Theft
On the count of misdemeanor retail theft, Judge Peterson ordered Johnson to serve nine months in jail, concurrent with the 12 month jail sentence imposed for the methamphetamine charge.
Judge Peterson ordered Johnson to pay $243 in court costs, a $250 DNA surcharge and a $10 drug surcharge.
The judge also ordered Johnson to pay restitution to Walmart as a condition of the probation imposed in the felony bail jumping case.
All together, Johnson has been ordered to pay a little over $2,000 in court costs and DNA and drug surcharges, along with unspecified amounts of restitution to the property owners in Colfax and to Walmart and for extradition back to Wisconsin.
