By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 51-year-old Eau Claire man charged with recklessly endangering safety after attacking another person with a hatchet in the Town of Dunn has reached a plea deal and has been placed on probation.
John Jeffrey Rose, along with his attorney, Jonathan Lundeen, appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court for a plea and sentencing hearing before Judge Christina Mayer August 20.
Rose was charged with one felony count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a use of a dangerous weapon modifier and as a repeat offender; one count of felony bail jumping with a repeat offender modifier; one misdemeanor count of battery with a modifier of use of a dangerous weapon and as a repeat offender; one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon modifier and as a repeat offender; and one misdemeanor count of bail jumping as a repeat offender.
Rose entered a plea of “no contest” to the misdemeanor battery charge and to the misdemeanor bail jumping charge.
Judge Mayer accepted the plea of “no contest” and found Rose guilty on both counts.
The remaining counts were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing.
Judge Mayer withheld sentence on both counts and placed Rose on two years of probation, to be served concurrently, and ordered Rose to complete an alcohol and other drugs assessment, to follow through on recommended treatment, to have no contact with a 35-year-old and a 44-year-old identified in the online court record by their initials, to not possess or be in the presence of any drugs that are not prescribed to him, and to not possess or be in the presence of any drug paraphernalia.
Rose also was ordered to pay $243 in court costs, a $200 DNA surcharge and a $20 crime prevention fee.
In a separate case, Rose was charged with one misdemeanor count of operating while revoked with a repeat offender modifier; two misdemeanor counts of bail jumping, each with a repeat offender modifier; and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia as a repeat offender.
Judge Mayer accepted Rose’s plea of “no contest” on the count of operating while revoked and found him guilty, dismissed the remaining charges, and ordered Rose to pay $243 in court costs, a $200 DNA surcharge and a $20 crime prevention fee.
At the time of plea and sentencing hearing, Rose was in custody at the Dunn County jail.
Bail was set for Rose at $10,000 cash on May 21.
According to a news release from the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, a Dunn County investigator and a Menomonie Police Department investigator were completing a drive-by of residence in the Town of Dunn May 19 where a homicide had occurred last November and was known to be a high-traffic drug residence.
Ryan L. Steinhoff, Chad D. Turgeson and Ashley A. Gunder are charged in connection with the death of Bruce E. McGuigan, age 37, of Hayward, at N2564 440th Street in the Town of Dunn November 17, 2020.
Gunder pleaded “no contest” and was found guilty of first degree reckless homicide, as a party to a crime, on August 20. She is scheduled for a sentencing hearing in Dunn County Circuit Court December 17.
When the investigators drove by the Town of Dunn residence May 19, they saw a man, later identified as John Rose, take a hatchet out of a vehicle, and then, with the hatchet raised over his head in a threatening manner, run toward the residence.
The investigators requested assistance and then followed Rose into the residence and identified themselves to Rose.
By the time the investigators got inside, it appeared Rose had already struck another individual twice with the hatchet and was preparing to strike a third time.
With guns drawn, the investigators ordered Rose to drop the hatchet, and he complied.
During the course of the investigation, officers discovered that Rose and his girlfriend, Rebecca Sue Davis, had only just arrived and had allegedly assaulted two other people in the residence before Rose went out to his truck to get the hatchet.
While investigators were interviewing individuals at the residence, they learned the disagreement and assaults were over past owed drug debts, according to the news release.
Davis is charged with one misdemeanor count of battery, one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct and two misdemeanor counts of bail jumping, each with the modifier of being a repeat offender.
Davis is scheduled for an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court September 23 before Judge James Peterson.
Bail was set for Davis at $500 cash on May 21.
At the time of an August 20 court hearing, Davis remained in custody at the Dunn County jail.
According to online court records, there was some kind of conflict with Davis’s previous public defender, and the court issued an order appointing another public defender on August 25.
