Bail reduced to $10,000 cash for Knapp man charged with 6 drug related felonies
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Bail has been reduced in Dunn County Circuit Court to $10,000 cash for a 58-year-old former Knapp man charged with six drug related felonies and two misdemeanors.
Richard L. Skramstad was in custody and appeared from the Dunn County Jail with attorney Daniel J. Chapman before Judge James Peterson on August 6.
Skramstad is charged in Dunn County with six felony counts of manufacturing or delivering methamphetamine in an amount greater than 50 grams, between 10 and 50 grams and between three and 10 grams; manufacturing or delivering cocaine in an amount between one and five grams; and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver in an amount between 10 and 50 grams. He also is charged with misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and operating without a valid driver’s license (second time within three years).
Online court records indicate Skramstad’s address changed from Knapp to an address in Prescott on June 1.
Bail was set for Skramstad at $20,000 cash May 17.
At the August 6 hearing, Chapman asked for a continuation of the bail hearing, according to online court records.
Skramstad was under the impression that “old cases” drop off a defendant’s record, that it would not affect current bail and asked that bail be modified to $10,000 cash. Skramstad said he would pay for electronic monitoring if he were released on bail, Chapman told the court.
Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Megan Kelly said she objected to any modification of the bail and filed briefs and exhibits with the court regarding Skramstad’s previously missed court dates and his ties to Minnesota.
Judge Peterson reduced the bail from $20,000 cash to $10,000 cash and ordered Skramstad to not be in the presence of any drug paraphernalia or any controlled substance without a valid prescription.
Skramstad is scheduled for a status conference in Dunn County Circuit Court on August 18 at 4 p.m.
Federal indictment
According to information from the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, a federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned an indictment on August 11 charging Skramstad with three counts of distributing methamphetamine on April 12, April 13 and May 13, 2021.
If convicted, Skramstad faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each charge.
According to the information from the sheriff’s department, the charges against Skramstad are the result of an investigation by the West Central Drug Task Force, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Kraus is handling the prosecution.
Marketplace
According to the criminal complaint in the Dunn County case, Dunn County investigators met with a confidential informant, CI#2, who said he/she could purchase two ounces (56 grams) of methamphetamine from Richard Skramstad for $1,000.
CI#2 said Skramstad would complete the methamphetamine sale in the parking lot of Marketplace Foods in Menomonie, according to the complaint.
Investigators provided CI#2 with $1,000 of West Central Drug Task Force buy funds and equipped CI#2 with audio and video body wires.
CI#2 met Skramstad in the Marketplace parking lot, and investigators observed the hand-to-hand transaction and were able to positively identify the man as Skramstad.
CI#2 gave investigators a box when they met at a pre-determined location that contained the suspected methamphetamine but only contained one ounce, or approximately 28 grams, the complaint states.
CI#2 called Skramstad, who said he was not the one who had weighed the methamphetamine but said he would meet CI#2 to “make it right” and provide the second ounce.
“CI#2 conducted the control buy of methamphetamine for consideration of pending charges,” according to the complaint.
The next day, CI#2 said Skramstad had said he could provide the second ounce of methamphetamine and would also sell an additional ounce for $500.
Skramstad arrived at the Marketplace parking lot and then got into CI#2’s vehicle.
Investigators listened over the live audio feed and heard Skramstad talking about drug weights and prices and said he had three different sources from which he could obtain methamphetamine. Skramstad told the CI he could sell any weight and would charge $3,000 for a half pound, according to the complaint.
CI#2 met the investigators at a pre-determined location and handed over a box containing the suspected methamphetamine. CI#2 said the way Skramstad was talking, he/she believes Skramstad is well connected with methamphetamine sources, the complaint states.
Skramstad also was implicated in the sale of methamphetamine at a house in the Town of Sherman, according to the complaint.
The Dunn County district attorney’s office is aware that Skramstad qualifies as a subsequent offender since he was convicted of selling narcotic drugs in Steele County, Minnesota, in January of 2014, and the conviction remains unreversed, the complaint states.
