Brown County courts request aid to address felony case backlog
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Legislators in Brown County are asking for more state funding as they say they need help with staffing shortages amid thousands of pending felony cases.
State representatives Shae Sortwell (R-Gibson) and Ben Franklin (R-De Pere) have reportedly filed a budget motion to the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Finance Committee with the hopes of expanding operations for the Brown County courts.
'Summer in the City' press conference reveals upcoming activities and events in Green Bay
There appears to be bipartisan support to bring two judges, three assistant district attorneys, and two state public defender support staff positions onboard.
By bringing in the additional staff, state lawmakers hope it can alleviate the backlog, which they say is longer than both Milwaukee and Dane Counties combined.
What I can tell you is I think everybody is very excited about this. Again its a much needed injection from the state and so everybody that I've talked to so far is very supportive about it, there's an obvious need there so everybodys excited.
State Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere)
As of now, the current median age of a criminal case in Brown County is nearly 300 days.
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Yahoo
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Milwaukee man admits to framing undocumented man in Trump, ICE threats
The Brief A Milwaukee man admitted to framing Ramon Morales-Reyes, who is now facing deportation, for threatening President Donald Trump. The undocumented man was going to testify against Demetric Scott in a criminal trial. Scott admitted that he wrote everything in the letters and envelopes himself. MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is accused of writing letters threatening to kill President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and then sending those letters to Milwaukee officials, all the while posing as an undocumented man. It was later learned that the undocumented man was going to testify against the man in a criminal trial. What we know 52-year-old Demetric Scott has been charged with: Felony Identity Theft (Harm reputation) Felony Intimidation of a Witness (By a person charged with a felony) Felony Bail Jumping (2 counts) What we know According to the criminal complaint, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office, the Milwaukee Police Chief and the Milwaukee ICE Office all received handwritten letters in the mail. The return addresses were handwritten on the envelopes in blue ink. The name and address on each of the envelopes were correctly written for the immigrant, Ramon Morales-Reyes. The letters were all handwritten and, although not exactly the same, all wrote about immigration policy and threatening to kill ICE agents or President Donald Trump. Those letters also appeared to be written by the same person. What we know The complaint goes on to state that Morales-Reyes had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Milwaukee because his name was on those envelopes. Detectives interviewed him with the help of a translator, as he did not read, write, or speak fluent English. When asked if anyone would want him to get in trouble, Morales-Reyes said that the only person who would want that would be the person who had robbed him and who law enforcement knows to be the defendant, Demetric Scott. As part of the investigation, a handwritten note from Morales-Reyes was taken and photographed which showed completely different handwriting than what is on the letters and envelopes. What we know The complaint goes on to state that Scott was arrested for, and charged with, the armed robbery and aggravated battery of Morales-Reyes in Milwaukee. Scott is in custody on $10,000 cash bail at the Milwaukee County Jail for that charge. The jury trial was scheduled to start in July. What we know Multiple calls were recently made from Scott's inmate ID. One time, on April 27, he is heard saying: "I sent a big manila envelope to mama's house. It either got there yesterday or – so, um, it's either gonna be there tomorrow or it already got there. It's two letters in there that's already written up, I just need you to put them in the mailbox for me. I just need them to be mailed out from the street and not from here." Later on the same day, to a different phone number, he can be heard saying: "I'm gonna call you on someone else's pin because the DA be listening to my calls. I got a plan. I got a hell of a plan." On May 11, he was documemted saying "I'll probably get out this [expletive] July 15. Dude don't come to court then they gonna have to dismiss my case. Listen, I need, um, an address. I need for someone to go Google, uh, Department of Justice, the Attorney General. I need the Attorney General address in the state of Wisconsin. Do you know how to do that?" On May 16, he can be heard saying: "It's a manila envelope. It's got other letters in there. I need all the letters that's in there. I need them to be put in the mailbox." Also on May 16, he was documented saying: "This dude is a [expletive] illegal immigrant and they just need to pick his ass up. I'm dead serious, cause I got jury trial on July 15. I got final pretrial on June 16 so if he is apprehended by the 16, we can go into court and say 'Hey, he's in custody now. Um, there is no reason for us to even continue the July 15th jury date.' And the judge will agree cause if he gets picked up by ICE, there won't be a jury trial, so they will probably dismiss it that day. That's my plan." Dig deeper Per the criminal complaint, on May 30, a detective conducted a Mirandized interview with Scott. During this interview, he admitted that he wrote everything in the letters and envelopes himself. He stated that the letters were made without any assistance. When asked what was going through his head at the time of writing the letters, Scott replied, "freedom." He said there were a total of five sealed envelopes with letters inside of them. The defendant admitted that his intention was not to go after Trump, rather, to prevent Morales-Reyes from testifying at his trial. Scott stated that he believed the letters were the simplest way to "get him off his back" and said he knew that including a threat to Trump in the letters would mean that the Secret Service would have to get involved, and law enforcement would investigate. Also on May 30, a detective executed a search warrant on Scott's jail cell. During the search, a blue pen was recovered. A pink paper with a note stating that the defendant needed the Attorney General's office address was also recovered. Additionally, an envelope was located on the shelf under the bed containing the address and phone number of the Milwaukee ICE office. On the same day, per the complaint, detectives spoke with Scott's mother, who confirmed that he had mailed some letters to her regarding his case, but she did not have any idea what was written in those letters. What's next Morales-Reyes was arrested following the mailing of the letters, and he is currently being held at the Dodge County Jail. Morales-Reyes is set to appear in court with an immigration judge on Wednesday, June 4. He faces the possibility of being deported. The Source Information in this report is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
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Man accused of framing other man for deportation by writing letters threatening Trump's life
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin man is facing charges accusing him of forging a letter threatening President Donald Trump's life in an effort to get another man deported. Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Monday that Demetric D. Scott was behind a letter sent to state and federal officials with the return address and name of Ramón Morales Reyes.
Associated Press
4 hours ago
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Man accused of framing other man for deportation by writing letters threatening Trump's life
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin man is facing charges accusing him of forging a letter threatening President Donald Trump's life in an effort to get another man deported. Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Monday that Demetric D. Scott was behind a letter sent to state and federal officials with the return address and name of Ramón Morales Reyes. Scott was charged Monday with felony witness intimidation, identity theft and two counts of bail jumping. His attorney, Robert Hampton III, didn't immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. Immigration agents arrested Morales Reyes, 54, on May 21 after he dropped his child off at school in Milwaukee. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the arrest, saying he had written a letter threatening to kill Trump and would 'self-deport' to Mexico. The announcement, which also was posted by the White House on its social media accounts, contained an image of the letter as well as a photo of Morales Reyes. But the claim started to unravel as investigators talked to Morales Reyes, who doesn't speak English fluently, and obtained a handwriting sample from him that was different than the handwriting in the letters, according to court documents. Morales Reyes is listed as a victim in the case involving Scott, who is awaiting trial in Milwaukee County Jail on armed robbery and aggravated battery charges. The trial is scheduled for July. Law enforcement officers listened to several calls Scott made from the jail in which he talked about letters that needed to be mailed and a plan to get someone picked up by ICE so Scott's trial could get dismissed, according to the criminal complaint. He also admitted to police that he wrote the letters, documents said. Morales Reyes works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee, where he lives with his wife and three children. He had recently applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who become victims of serious crimes, said attorney Kime Abduli, who filed that application. Abduli told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that she was glad Morales Reyes was being cleared of any involvement in the letter writing. His deportation defense lawyer, Cain Oulahan, wrote in an email Monday night that the main focus now is to secure Morales Reyes' release from custody and the next step will be to pursue any relief he may qualify for in immigration court. 'While he has a U visa pending, those are unfortunately backlogged for years, so we will be looking at other options to keep him here with his family, which includes his three US citizen children,' Oulahan wrote.
