Judge finds probable cause in Shooters Showgirls arson
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Dunn County judge has bound over for trial a 25-year-old Comstock man charged with arson in connection with the January 18 fire that destroyed Shooters Showgirls in the Town of Elk Mound.
Colton Wayne Jansen appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court April 8, along with his attorney, Aaron Nelson, for a preliminary hearing before Judge Christina Mayer.
Jansen is charged with felony counts of arson, burglary and possession of burglarious tools.
Following testimony by Dunn County Sergeant Richard Day, Judge Mayer found probable cause and bound Jansen over for trial, according to on-line court records.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled in Dunn County Circuit Court on May 15 at 10:30 a.m.
Bail was set for Jansen at $25,000 cash on January 24.
At 4:55 a.m. Saturday, January 18, a deputy from the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to Shooters Showgirls in reference to a burglary, according to the criminal complaint.
Shooters was located at 850th Street in the Town of Elk Mound near the I-94 and U.S. Highway 12 interchange,
While the deputy was on his way to Shooters, dispatch told the deputy that a 911 call had been received from a semi-truck driver who had seen flames coming out of the roof of the building.
When the deputy arrived, he, too, could see flames coming out of the building, according to the criminal complaint.
In spite of the best efforts of multiple fire departments, including Elk Mound and Colfax, the building was completely destroyed by fire.
Camera footage
The Shooters Showgirls building had been equipped with “Blink” cameras, which store footage and data on a cloud-based system.
Later that day, the manager accessed clips from the cameras while she was at home and had forwarded those clips to a sergeant with the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, according to the criminal complaint.
In the videos, a lone, caucasian man is seen walking through the building and who had attempted to break into the ATM, a pull tab machine and a stuffed animal machine in order to take money.
The suspect was also caught on video using a torch to start the fire.
Employees indicated that they had left the building at 3:06 a.m. January 18, according to the criminal complaint.
The suspect first appeared on the surveillance camera video at 3:27 a.m. in the main entrance/lobby area of the building, the complaint states.
Witness
A witness contacted the sheriff’s department on January 19 to report she had seen a dark colored sedan, either dark blue or black, facing southbound in the northbound lane of travel near Shooters Showgirls early in the morning on January 18, according to the criminal complaint.
A search of the license plate reader system on January 21 revealed a black 2011 Buick Lucerne with Wisconsin license plates, the criminal complaint states.
The license plates were registered to Colton Jansen, and Jansen’s vehicle was recorded on the Flock camera at around 2:56 a.m. January 18 entering the City of Menomonie near Fleet Farm.
The vehicle was recorded on the Flock camera again at around 3:08 a.m. January 18 near Highway 12/29 and 850th Street.
When investigators made contact with him at his home, Jansen told the deputies there was no one at Shooters Showgirls while he was there and that he “was not a fan of those clubs,” the complaint states.
“Colton explained he believed strip clubs were disgusting and were against his beliefs. Colton admitted those were the reasons he started the building on fire,” according to the criminal complaint.
Jansen told the deputies that it had not been his intention to hurt anyone.
Arson is a Class C felony that carries a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to 40 years in prison.
Burglary is a Class F felony that carries a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $25,000 and/or up to 12 years and six months in prison.
Possession of burglarious tools is a Class I felony that carries a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to three years and six months in prison.
