By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 56-year-old Boyceville man has been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
Franklin J. Bignell appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court for a sentencing hearing February 11 before Judge Christina M. Mayer.
Bignell was charged with one Class C felony of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, greater than 50 grams with a modifier of a second or subsequent office; one Class D felony of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, 10 to 50 grams, with a modifier of a second or subsequent offense; one Class I felony of maintaining a drug trafficking place; and one Class I felony of possession of amphetamine/LSD/psilocybin, second offense; as well as two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bignell entered a plea of no contest to the felony charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver in October of 2021, and the remaining charges were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing.
Judge Mayer also sentenced Bignell to two years of probation, to run concurrent with the prison sentence, on one count of felony bail jumping after Bignell pleaded no contest at the February 11 hearing and the judge found him guilty of the charge.
The felony bail jumping is related to the case of Lynn Nieznanski, who is charged with the false reporting of an emergency for saying she was being held hostage by her 56-year-old ex-boyfriend, Bignell, following an incident at Bignell’s house in Boyceville in December.
As the result of previous court cases, Nieznanski and Bignell had been ordered to have “no contact” with each other.
Following the incident in December, Bignell initially was charged with two felony counts of bail jumping and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer.
Based on a prosecutor’s motion, Judge Mayer dismissed the second count of felony bail jumping and the count of obstructing an officer.
In addition to the two years of probation for the felony bail jumping, Judge Mayer ordered Bignell to have no contact with Nieznanski, not to be in the presence of drug paraphernalia, and to pay court costs of $538.
For the charge of possessing methamphetamine with intent to deliver, Dunn County District Attorney Andrea Nodolf had asked the court to sentence Bignell to three years in prison with seven years of extended supervision.
Bignell’s attorney, Scott Schlough, made an argument to the court for three years in prison but only three years of extended supervision instead of seven years.
Judge Mayer ultimately sentenced Bignell to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision and also ordered Bignell not to be in the presence of drug paraphernalia.
In addition, the judge ordered Bignell not to possess or consume controlled substances that have not currently been prescribed by a physician, to complete programming recommended by Bignell’s probation agent and to pay court costs of $518.
Bignell received five days of credit for time already served and is eligible for the Earned Release Program.
The Earned Release Program is an intensive six-month substance abuse program that is designed to address criminal thinking and substance use disorders with the intent of reducing future criminal behavior.
According to a news release from the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, a Dunn County sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop in the Town of Dunn on April 2, 2020, which led to the arrest of an adult male and the seizure of methamphetamine.
Based on information received during the traffic stop, a search warrant was executed in the Village of Boyceville in conjunction with the West Central Drug Task Force and the Boyceville Police Department.
As a result of the search warrant, 110 grams of methamphetamine were recovered, along with “ecstasy” pills and packaging material.
Bignell was subsequently taken into custody and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of amphetamine/LSD/psilocybin, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
