23-year-old charged with possessing child pornography

From The Journal Times.com:

Caroline Neal

CALEDONIA — A 23-year-old Caledonia man was arrested following a cyber tip from Internet Crimes Against Children to the Caledonia Police Department.

Christopher DuFay faces 20 counts of possession of child pornography, which is a felony.

The maximum sentence for each charge is a fine of up to $100,000, imprisonment for not more than 25 years, or both.

Additionally, if convicted, the court will impose a surcharge of $500 for each image or copy of an image associated with the crime.

Online records show DuFay is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing April 9.

According to a criminal complaint, the tip included eight videos and a Kik account with an IP address that was associated with an address in the 2700 block of Holly Grove Court and an account name of Christopher DeFay.

During the investigation, CPD served a search warrant for the account on MediaLab, which owns Kik, an instant messaging service.

According to the complaint, the warrant reportedly showed 209 images/videos had been downloaded or shared by the account owner. CPD reportedly found 20 distinct videos that contained child pornography.

DuFay’s residence also was searched and investigators seized several items as evidence, the complaint said.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_285b3ea5-e7b4-464e-8648-b1e8bb22d06d.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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Union Grove man accused of sexual assault enters not guilty plea

From The Journal Times.com:

Caroline Neal

RACINE — A Union Grove man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Thursday at the Racine County Courthouse.

Brandon Seward, 40, faces one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child, one count of child enticement and two counts of intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child.

Seward posted a $20,000 cash bond Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear in court for a status conference May 6.

According to previous Journal Times reporting, the girl reportedly said Seward “told her to drink alcohol” and alleged that he sexually assaulted her on March 14.

In the complaint, the girl also alleged Seward would get her drunk when she saw him and that he had kissed her, squeezed her shoulder and touched her leg “randomly” prior to the alleged assault.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_96cb5e52-7ddc-4373-9097-2366e648433a.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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After days of widespread cancellations, Amtrak restores Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago

From JSOnline:

Alex Groth

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Amtrak's Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago has been restored less than two weeks after railcar corrosion issues caused widespread cancellations, according to a statement from the agency.

All Amtrak trains on the Borealis, Hiawatha and Amtrak Cascades routes have been restored and are operating on schedule, although each replacement train is operating with a limited number of cars, according to the release.

Hiawatha service trains were operating without bus substitution as of last Friday, said spokesperson Marc Magliari in an email. According to Amtrak's website, all Hiawatha trains scheduled to depart Monday are running on-time or slightly delayed from Milwaukee and Chicago.

Widespread cancellations of Amtrak routes impacted travelers in late March after the agency removed its fleet of Horizon passenger cars due to concerns over corrosion. The removal of the corroded Horizon cars affected services on the Downeaster, Hiawatha, Borealis and Amtrak Cascades routes.

Amtrak urges customers to book early for a guaranteed seat, according to the release. The most up to date arrival and departure times are available on Amtrak.com, the mobile app or by text or phone 1-877-231-9448 to speak with an Amtrak Customer Care Specialist.

RELATED: Amtrak's new line from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities is a month old. It's already had 18,500 riders

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2025/04/07/amtrak-restores-hiawatha-service-between-milwaukee-and-chicago/82973212007/

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Cops Gone Wild: Falsifying reports. Found 'not credible.' Why aren’t they on Milwaukee's list of cops with integrity issues?

From JSOnline:

Ashley Luthern

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After two days of testimony about a traffic stop that ended in a drug arrest, a Milwaukee County judge had heard enough.

“You can stop,” Judge Paul R. Van Grunsven said last fall, interrupting the defense attorney who was still cross-examining a West Allis police officer.

The judge recounted inconsistencies in the officer’s testimony and body camera footage shown during an evidence suppression hearing.

“This witness has lost any credibility with this Court,” Van Grunsven said. “I find none of his testimony to therefore be truthful.”

The officer, Michael Lazaris, left the stand. 

He had been found untruthful by a judge, yet he does not appear on a list of officers with credibility concerns, findings of dishonesty or bias, or past criminal charges.

He’s not the only one. 

Read and see much more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2025/04/07/milwaukee-countys-brady-list-omits-police-found-not-credible-in-court-giglio-lazaris-boyack-milone/82678154007/

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Man dies in Caledonia barn fire on Nicholson Road early Sunday morning

From JSOnline:

Claire Reid

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A man is dead after a barn fire early Sunday morning in the Racine County village of Caledonia.

Just before 3 a.m. on Sunday, the Caledonia and South Shore fire departments and Caledonia Police responded to the fire in the 7900 block of Nicholson Road, a rural area off 7 Mile Road.

In a news release, Caledonia Police say police and fire crews arrived on scene within four minutes and observed a barn fully engulfed in flames. While working to extinguish the fire, crews located a deceased person within the damaged structure. Multiple news outlets have identified the victim as 42-year-old Jeff Smith. Police say no one else was injured in the fire.

According to a GoFundMe set up by Smith's family, Smith was a brother, his siblings' protector and chef, and loved dogs and movies. The fire occurred on Smith's father's property. The GoFundMe will go toward Smith's memorial and service and repairing fire damage.

The fire is under investigation by the Caledonia Police Department with assistance from the Caledonia Fire Department and the Racine County Fire Investigation Task Force, a joint task force comprised of police and fire personnel from agencies throughout Racine County.

Anyone who witnessed the fire prior to the arrival of rescue personnel or has additional information should call the Caledonia Police Department at (262) 835-4423 Ext. 1023 and speak to Detective Chad Zoltak.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2025/04/07/man-dies-in-caledonia-barn-fire-early-sunday-morning/82971403007/

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Council members override mayor's veto

From The Journal Times.com:

Holly Gilvary

RACINE — The City of Racine Common Council on Wednesday voted to override Mayor Cory Mason's veto of an ordinance changing the council's structure.

The vote was 10-4, with Alders Terry McCarthy, Henry Perez, Renee Kelly, Jeff Coe, Olivia Turquoise-Davis, David Maack, Melissa Kaprelian, Sandy Weidner, Cinthia Esqueda and newly-appointed District 2 Alder Tyler Townsend supporting the override.

Alders Samuel Peete, Mary Land, Marlo Harmon and Maurice Horton voted against the motion.

Alder Cory Sebastian abstained, saying she did not want to make the decision for the members of the new Common Council, which will have its first meeting April 15.

Four districts will have new alders in the next council, as Sebastian, Kaprelian and Coe lost their districts' races, and McCarthy did not run for reelection. 

"I'm finding it very challenging for me to make a decision for those who are going to be operating in these seats moving forward," Sebastian said.

Prior to the vote, Sebastian offered a motion to defer action until the next meeting, which failed.

"We can say all we want, but we're gone in two weeks, so I think that we should allow them to make this decision," Sebastian said.

With the mayor's veto overridden, the following ordinance changes, approved by the Common Council on March 4, will go into effect:

• The council president, rather than the mayor, will appoint members to standing committees.

• Standing committee members will elect that committee's chair, and the committee chair will appoint a vice-chair.

• All alders will become ex-officio members of the standing committees.

• The role of council vice president will be created and will be elected by alders at the council's annual organizational meeting.

• The council president and vice-president will have a term length of two years.

• The vice-president can preside over Common Council meetings if neither the president nor the mayor are present.

• The Committee of the Whole will be added as a standing committee.

• Alders will no longer be able to serve more than two years as a chair or vice-chair of a standing committee.

The council also approved the appointment of Tyler Townsend as District 2 alder, filling the vacancy left by Alder Mollie Jones' death. Townsend was immediately sworn into office following the council's approval.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a development incentive agreement between the city and Dominion 12, Dominion 14 and AOA Racine for the Dominion Downtown Phase 2 project, for which the city will give developers a $9.7 million loan to redevelop multiple storefronts and buildings in Downtown Racine as part of the Hotel Verdant project in Tax Increment District No. 26.

• Approved an amendment to the project plan for Tax Increment District No. 9 allowing for excess revenue to be transferred to TID No. 26, including the transfer of $5.7 million for the loan for the Dominion Downtown Phase 2 project.

• Approved an amendment to the project plan and boundaries of Tax Increment District No. 26.

• Approved a major amendment to the Planned Development for Regency Mall to allow for a new use for a multi-family residential development at 5326 Durand Ave.

• Awarded a $14 million contract to KGI Construction Group for the construction of 33 townhomes for the Lincoln King Development Project.

• Approved a state/municipal agreement for a design and construction project on State Street Bridge over Root River. The city’s share of the project cost will be $640,000 and the state’s will be $14,375,000.

• Approved a three-party consulting engineering services agreement between the city, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and EMCS Inc., for a road construction project on Spring Street from Fairway Drive to State Trunk Highway 38, not-to-exceed amount of $391,862. The city will pay $78,372 and WisDOT will pay $313,490.

• Referred back to the Public Safety and Licensing Committee an application from Adream Social Lounge, 1518 Washington Ave., for a "Class B" Intoxicating Beverage and Fermented Malt Beverage license.

• Granted permission for the City Development Department to apply for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s $250,000 Community Development Investment grant for Hop Heads Hospitality & Events to build a restaurant and taproom at the Legion building at Belle City Square, 1907 St. Patrick St.

• Approved and ratified the formation of the Lincoln King Community Center and Clinic QALICB Inc., for the purposes of the New Market Tax Credit transaction associated with the construction of the King Center and allowed the city to execute all necessary documents associated with the project.

• Granted permission to the Racine Human Resources Department to apply for a workforce development fast forward grant at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development in relation to the public safety cadet and youth employment program. If awarded, the Fire Cadet Program would receive up to $176,000, and the Commercial Driver's License Program would receive up to $225,000.

• Approved the creation of a new part-time position to implement the outreach/education component of the DNR/IRA Urban Forestry grant that was awarded to the city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department in 2024.

• Approved the application and acceptance of a $500,000 from the Daybreak Fund for energy efficiency and/or nature-based solutions to stormwater retention.

• Approved a request from Katherine Rayner of Crew Carwash for a major amendment to the Planned Development for Regency Mall to add a new use of a carwash at 2521 S. Green Bay Road

• Approved a request from the Wisconsin Humane Society to host a large-scale pet vaccination event for cats and dogs that reside in the 53404 ZIP code, at Lincoln Park from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.

• Authorized the Racine Public Health Department to enter into an agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and accept funding of $227,357 for syphilis case management and partner services within Racine County.

• Approved the proposed settlement of $50,000 in the case of Shannon Hollimon, et al., v. City of Racine, et al, Racine County Circuit Court Case No. 23CV1428.

• Authorized a change order to a contract for downtown street lighting, increasing the amount by $297 to $98,415, and authorized the final payment to contractor WIL-Surge Electric Inc.

• Awarded a contract to A.W. Oakes & Son Inc. of $1,159,020 for concrete street construction.

• Approved a change order to a contract with Musson Bros for sanitary sewer repairs, increasing the contract by $247,699 to $1.6 million.

• Authorized a final payment of $1.6 million to Musson Bros Inc., for sanitary sewer repairs.

• Authorized the city to enter into a consent and novation agreement with Coach USA Wisconsin for the assigning rights and obligations under the existing Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter bus purchased transportation agreement, because of a change in ownership. No interruption in purchased transportation services is anticipated, as two option years are included in the existing contract.

• Approved closing the following streets from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 14 for the Third Annual Racine Juneteenth Day Parade: Lake Avenue from Fourth Street to Sixth Street; Fourth Street from Lake Avenue to Main Street; Main Street from Fourth Street to 14th Street; 14th Street from Main Street to Grand Avenue; and Grand Avenue from 14th Street to Caron Butler Drive.

• Submitted the alley from 20th Street to Dekoven Avenue and Case Avenue to Jay Eye See Avenue, running east to west, to be included in the 2025 public hearing for 2026 construction.

• Awarded a contract for a tree purchase to Chestnut Ridge Nursery for $36,182, and to Schichtel's Nursery for $64,526.

• Awarded a contract for tree and stump removal to Busch Tree Expert for $46,500 and to Homer Tree Service for $32,780.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/government-politics/article_331ea2e2-cc92-4066-932a-5c88fa0dd9a8.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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