Former Ridgeland man sentenced to three years of probation for possession of methamphetamine
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 57-year-old former Ridgeland man has been sentenced to three years of probation for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
Anthony E. Kurtz appeared for a plea and sentencing hearing, along with this attorney William A. Schembera, before Judge Rod W. Smeltzer June 24.
Kurtz was charged in Dunn County with two felony counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and felony bail jumping and four misdemeanor counts of bail jumping, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine.
Kurtz entered a guilty plea on the felony count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to deliver, and Judge Smeltzer accepted the guilty plea. As part of the plea agreement, the judge dismissed the remaining counts, which were read into the court record, according to online court records.
Judge Smeltzer withheld sentence, placed Kurtz on three years of probation and ordered Kurtz to maintain absolute sobriety, be evaluated for AODA (Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse) and to follow through with any recommended treatment.
In addition, Judge Smeltzer ordered 180 days of conditional jail time be held in abeyance for use by Kurtz’s probation agent, ordered Kurtz to pay $268 in court costs and a $250 DNA surcharge, along with $1,725 to be forfeited to the school fund.
Speeding
According to the criminal complaint, Kurtz was stopped for speeding on state Highway 64 in the Town of Sand Creek on September 11, 2019.
After seeing a vehicle driving over the speed limit, a Dunn County deputy ran a check on the license plates of the vehicle, and the plates were registered to someone living just outside the City of Menomonie. The deputy then observed the vehicle pulling into a residence on Highway 64 where it is believed the occupants of the residence and those visiting the residence use controlled substances.
The vehicle stayed at the residence for one and a half to two minutes, and then left.
The deputy caught up with the vehicle and and conducted a traffic stop based on the vehicle’s previous traffic violation of speeding on Highway 64. Kurtz’s driver’s license listed a Chippewa Falls address although a later check of in-house records indicated Kurtz was homeless. Kurtz told Deputy Shields he was living at the residence where he had stopped for a minute or two and also told the deputy he was borrowing the vehicle from a friend, according to the complaint.
Kurtz informed the deputy, too, that he had an appointment scheduled with his probation officer later that afternoon.
When Kurtz rolled down the window of the vehicle, the deputy detected the odor of marijuana. The deputy also observed a black butane torch on the front seat of a type commonly used by people using controlled substances, especially methamphetamine.
Search
As the deputy continued to search the vehicle, he discovered an LED headlamp and a lock picking set along with other crystal-like substances that tested positive for methamphetamine, the complaint states.
When a backup deputy arrived, the two deputies discovered a second lock picking set as well as a black nylon briefcase, a black duffel bag, unused syringes, a scale with residue that later tested positive for methamphetamine, a pipe that tested positive for marijuana and a meth “bubble” with residue.
In the briefcase was a silver and black Case style safe. When Kurtz was asked for the combination, he said it was not his, so the deputies used a sledge hammer to open the safe. When the safe was cracked open, Deputy Shields observed a large quantity of cash and other items that appeared to be illegal substances, according to the complaint.
The cash totaled $1,725 in 100s, 50s, 20s, a ten and a five. A cigarette pack contained several gem packs with a crystal substance that tested positive for methamphetamine and a Baggie had contents that tested positive for cocaine. An e-cigarette cartridge that fit an e-cigarette base found in the car was for a brand of THC oil that tested over 95 percent THC (the active substance in marijuana).
2009
Kurtz was found guilty following a two-day jury trial in Dunn County in December of 2009 on one felony count of the second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim and was sentenced in February of 2010 to eight years in prison with six years of extended supervision.
According to the criminal complaint in August of 2008, Kurtz and another man, Mark David Monson, threatened sheriff’s deputies with a 2×4 and an ax during a stand-off at the Sand Creek residence where a 25-year-old woman said the two men had sexually assaulted her. The Menomonie Police Department S.W.A.T. team also responded to the scene.
The woman told investigators she had met Kurtz and Monson at the White Birch Tavern in Chippewa County earlier in the day, that both men had been riding motorcycles and that they had asked her to go bar hopping with them.
Prior to the stand-off with law enforcement officers, the woman fell off the back of a motorcycle at the Otter Creek Inn, causing the owners of the establishment to be concerned that she was injured.
