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Doubling Of Grant Money To Add More OWI Crackdowns

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has received a $60,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for additional operating while intoxicated traffic enforcement.  The money is twice the amount received in last year's grant cycle.

The first deployment under the new grant will be on Saturday when an additional five deputies will be working overtime patrol to stop intoxicated drivers. The deputies will be focusing on the Beltline Highway for this initial deployment from about 11 p.m. until 2 a.m.

With the increase in grant money, the additional patrols may be on the roads throughout Dane County nearly two times per week.  The times, days and locations of the deployments will vary.

Bail Set For Suspect In Triple Fatal Interstate Crash

A suspected drunken driver accused of causing a crash on the interstate that killed three people appeared in Dane County Circuit Court on Monday for a bail hearing.

Bradley Erickson, 31, who graduated from Verona High School, is accused of rear-ending a disabled vehicle early last Thursday morning.

Authorities Identify Victims In Fatal Interstate Crash

Authorities have identified the three people killed in crash with a man suspected of drunken driving on Interstate 39/90 near Madison on Thursday.

The victims were identified as Marcus S. Johnson, 19, of Milwaukee, Elysia M. Rapp, 20, of Racine, and Wilfredo Ugarte, 23, of Puerto Rico. Two of the victims were identified as University of Minnesota students.

The Dane County Coroner's Office said that autopsies on all three victims were completed Thursday and that preliminary results indicate all three died as a direct result of injuries sustained in the crash.

The crash happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the Town of Burke when the driver, Bradley R. Erickson, 31, of Madison, rear-ended a disabled car parked on the median shoulder.

Dane County authorities said that three of the disabled car's five occupants were outside the car and two remained inside when the crash occurred.

Book Collection Scam Snuffed Out By Madison Police

A manager for Half Price Books on South Whitney Way contacted police this week after a man attempted to sell him eight bags of books.

Just after the man came into the store, the manager got a call from someone who said the man, later identified as a 56-year-old Beloit man, had just been at as his house and said he was collecting books for veterans.

The caller, a veteran himself, gave the man books, but then saw him going into the Half Price Books store with his donation.

Man, Dog Thwart Robbery Near South Fair Oaks Avenue

A 24-year-old Madison man watching television at his home on South Bryan Street near South Fair Oaks Avenue at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday when his dog started growling.

He told police he thought he heard a downstairs door open, so he went to investigate, found nothing and went outside where he discovered a man trying to break in a door to a neighbor's residence.

He threatened the would-be intruder with his dog, and the man ran away, according to Madison police.

Police said they also received two other calls concerning forced entry to area homes around the same time. These involved residences in the 3100 block of Thorp Street.

Madison Man Arrested On Suspicion Of 5th OWI Offense

A Dane County Sheriff Deputy arrested 27-year-old Chad C. Glynn of Madison for a 5th offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

The deputy saw Glynn and a passenger pull into the parking lot of a business on South Stoughton Road in Blooming Grove.

The deputy thought the two men’s presence was suspicious at that hour and contacted the two men.

Glynn admitted to being under the influence, following field sobriety tests and a blood draw at a hospital. The deputy booked Glynn to the Dane County Jail.

Man In Custody Suspected Of Connection With East Side Shooting

A suspect in a Sept. 8 shooting on Madison's East Side is in the Dane County Jail on a probation hold.

Kevin Dyer, 26, of Madison, was arrested by a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, a few hours after the shooting. Madison police said that they believe Dyer is responsible for the shooting in which one person lost the sight in one eye.

Police said that they believe Dyer and another individual, whose identity isn't being released at this time, conspired to rob two teens who they thought were going to buy some marijuana from one of the suspects. Police said the two teens were directed into a quiet East Side neighborhood near Acewood Park where the robbery took place. Police said the suspects chose the location because it was quiet and out of the way. Neither the victims nor the suspects lived nearby.