A public defender was appointed Tuesday for a Sauk City man accused of falsely claiming to police that men had broken into his home in an effort to cover up his abusive behavior toward a woman.
Rojas
Juan Antonio Torres Rojas faces a felony charge of false reporting of an emergency as well as misdemeanor counts of obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of four years and six months and two years of extended supervision.
Rojas first appeared Oct. 31 in Sauk County Circuit Court, where Judge Michael Screnock set a $2,500 signature bond. Conditions of the bail include no contact with the alleged victim, her home, place of employment, children or grandchildren.
Court records do not indicate Rojas has been released on bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
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Sgt. Joshua Rider of the Sauk Prairie Police Department responded to a call just before 11 p.m. Oct. 28 from a man claiming that intruders were in his Sauk City home along Spruce Street.
Another officer was speaking to Rojas when the sergeant arrived. Rojas claimed two people had broken into his home and that one was still there while another had jumped out of a window and fled, potentially in a red minivan. Rojas told police there were children and at least one other adult in the home.
Officers called for anyone in the residence to surrender to them. A woman and two children appeared. One of them told police Rojas claimed to hear footsteps in the home and checked but did not see anyone on the main floor.
Police found no suspects.
Rojas continued to call police and ask for a response throughout that night. Roughly 12 hours later, another officer went to the home and spoke to Rojas. Officer Jeffrey Beck told Rojas that the people who resided in the home had left due to his behavior and out of fear for their safety.
The others explained to the officer that no one had been in the home the night before, noting that the window Rojas claimed the intruder left through was unbroken.
A woman was upset and crying as she relayed to police that Rojas was angry, yelling and screaming at her the night before. She was afraid because of his past violent behavior and locked herself in an upstairs room. Rojas was on the main floor, slamming furniture, before he went upstairs. He went into a room where another resident saw him holding a knife before Rojas attempted to hide it from view.
Rojas rushed to the room where the woman had locked herself in and pounded on the door, demanding entrance. When she unlocked it, Rojas slammed the door into the wall. The woman saw the knife in his hand. When Rojas realized she had seen the knife, the woman said he planned to call the police and lie about what happened.
The woman noticed broken chairs on the main level of the home, but said Rojas had not harmed any of the people living there.
Rojas is scheduled to return to court Jan. 11.
GALLERY: Sauk County court, cops
Arsonist sentenced
Devin J. Schroeder, 25, of Madison, talks to his attorney, Mark Frank, during his sentencing hearing Wednesday at the Sauk County Courthouse.
Shores enters
Albart B. Shores, 59, of La Crosse, enters the courtroom Sept. 30 for his sentencing hearing in Sauk County Circuit Court. A jury found him guilty of all counts against him in a deadly crash from Oct. 2018 along Interstate 94/90 in the town of Delton in which Shores was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.09%.
Spoentgen argues
Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Rick Spoentgen argues for Devin J. Schroeder, 25, of Madison, to receive a prison sentence of 16 years for charges of arson and burglary during a sentencing hearing Wednesday at the Sauk County Courthouse.
Amber Lundgren hearing
Amber Lundgren, center, appears in December 2019 in Sauk County Circuit Court with attorneys Andrew Martinez, left, and Taylor Hart.
'I'm sorry, that's all I can say'
Robert Pulvermacher turns to the family of Harold Johnson, the 88-year-old Pulvermacher admitted to stabbing to death in January 2019, to say he was sorry during his sentencing hearing Dec. 1 at the Sauk County Courthouse.
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A computer streams the sentencing hearing of former Baraboo pastor William A. Metzger from the jury assembly room Monday in the Sauk County Courthouse.
Defense attorney Jeremiah Meyer-O'Day
Defense attorney Jeremiah Meyer-O'Day tells the jury in April that his client, Albart B. Shores of La Crosse, was not responsible for a car accident that resulted in the deaths of two men in October 2018. Shores is charged with six felony counts of homicide by use of a vehicle.
Amber Lundgren in shackles
Amber Lundgren enters the courtroom before a preliminary hearing in January 2020 at the Sauk County Courthouse. Lundgren is facing a lifetime prison sentence for the death of 37-year-old Westfield resident Christopher Lytle.
Medflight near Baraboo
A Medflight helicopter lands on City View Road north of Baraboo after a head-on collision in October 2019. Two people were taken to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and were described as in "serious condition" by Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister.
Judge sets $250K bond for Pulvermacher in Baraboo homicide case
Robert M. Pulvermacher appears in January 2019 in Sauk County Circuit Court after he was captured in the early hours of Wednesday morning on the east side of Madison. To his right is Baraboo attorney David Susens.
Amber Lundgren homicide hearing
Amber Lundgren, right, sits quietly crying next to her attorney Andrew Martinez during a preliminary hearing in January 2020 at the Sauk County Courthouse. Lundgren faces life imprisonment for a first degree intentional homicide charge after admittedly shooting a man in September 2019.
Albart B. Shores trial
Albart B. Shores, 58, La Crosse, stands while masked and behind a plastic divider beside his attorney, waiting for the jury to enter the courtroom April 19 at the Sauk County Courthouse for the first day of his trial. Shores was charged with six felony counts of homicide by use of a vehicle in relation to a fatal October 2018 crash.
Sauk County ADA Rick Spoentgen
Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Rick Spoentgen addresses Circuit Court Judge Patricia Barrett during a proceeding in December 2019 regarding a first-degree homicide case against Amber Lundgren, center right, as she sits alongside her attorneys Andrew Martinez, center, and Taylor Hart.
Pulvermacher listens
Robert Pulvermacher, right, listens as family members of Harold Johnson, an 88-year-old Pulvermacher stabbed to death in January 2019, read statements about how the murder has affected their lives during Pulvermacher's sentencing hearing Dec. 1 at the Sauk County Courthouse.
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Amber Lundgren, 35, right, sits with her attorney Andrew Martinez during a proceeding Thursday at the Sauk County Courthouse.
William Wenzel
Former Sauk County Supervisor William Wenzel, right, speaks during his sentencing hearing in February 2020 as his attorney Christopher Van Wagner listens.
Judge Michael Screnock
Sauk County Circuit Judge Michael Screnock jokes while giving a speech about newly appointed District Attorney Mike Albrecht as he sits with his son, Henrik, during a swearing-in ceremony Friday at the county courthouse.
Judge Klicko and attorneys Martinez and Spoentgen
Judge Wendy Klicko confers with defense attorney Andrew Martinez, left, and Assistant District Attorney Rick Spoentgen, right, in July 2019 in Sauk County Circuit Court during the sentence hearing on sexual abuse charges for Riley M. Roth, 18, of Reedsburg.
Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Rick Spoentgen
Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Rick Spoentgen gives an opening statement in April at the county courthouse in the first day of the homicide trial of Albart B. Shores, a La Crosse man charged with vehicular homicide.
Drew Bulin testifies
Sauk County Sheriff's Detective Drew Bulin answers questions from District Attorney Michael Albrecht during a preliminary hearing over a homicide case in January 2020 at the Sauk County Courthouse.
Wenzel and Van Wagner in courtroom
William Wenzel, right, appears in August 2019 in Sauk County Circuit Court alongside defense attorney Christopher Van Wagner. Wenzel stood mute and pleaded not guilty to five felony charges of possession of child pornography.
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Sauk County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Tate tells local children and families about K-9 Jennings during the Baraboo library's pet expo July 22 at Ochsner Park in Baraboo.
Mike Albrecht sworn in
Mike Albrecht takes the oath of office as the newly appointed district attorney with his son, 11-month-old Henrik, as he is sworn in by Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Barrett during a ceremony in November 2019 at the Sauk County Courthouse.
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Det. Lt. Chris Zunker of the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office speaks May 10 during Sauk County's Respect for Law Day observance in front of the courthouse in downtown Baraboo.
