12-05-2025
Trial approaches in stolen cards case
EAU CLAIRE — Trial is approaching for a man charged in connection with the theft of a valuable card collection.
Daniel Monarrez, 32, faces charges of theft of movable property valued between $10,000 and $100,000. The case began in May 2024 when a woman called police to say he and Rosario Pillado had likely taken the cards left to her by her grandfather.
Friday's hearing was one of the last scheduled before a June trial, which is expected to last three days. Monarrez attended by video. It saw prosecutors remove an expected witness from its roster.
Notes on the state's online court database indicated the proposed expert witness 'has been incommunicado.' That witness was needed for a Daubert hearing, a proceeding in which the court weighs the admissibility of an expert's testimony. Without the witness, the hearing was scrapped.
There was another note that suggests the trial may not take place, even with it set to begin in less than a month. The defense attorney said negotiations with prosecutors for a plea agreement are continuing.
Meanwhile, the court has to prepare as if the trial will proceed, and that includes making sure Monarrez attends. That requires some legal paperwork.
On Thursday the court issued a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum. That order instructs the warden of the Racine Correctional Institution, where Monarrez is currently serving a sentence for charges of robbery with the threat of force, theft of movable property valued more than $25,000 and carrying a concealed weapon.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim had sold an identical set of cards for $10,000 and purchased a car with the proceeds. Pillado made multiple references to her just 'sitting on' a lot of money by keeping the collection. He and Monarrez later asked her repeatedly whether her apartment had video surveillance. After one visit to the residence by the pair, she found the collection missing.
The charges are Class G felonies, carrying up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $25,000.
Pillado is scheduled for a status hearing in the case next month.
