(Kenosha County Sheriff)
Kenosha, Wis. — A 43-year-old Kenosha man, Jason T. Barnhill, has been charged with multiple felonies, including Intimidating a Witness, Stalking, and Threats to Communicate Derogatory Information. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of Intimidating a Victim. Barnhill, a repeat offender, remains in custody at the Kenosha County Jail as he awaits his initial court appearance on March 20, 2025.
Pending Criminal Cases
Barnhill is already facing serious charges in two separate Kenosha County cases, 24CF1227 and 24CF1228, involving allegations of sexual assault, false imprisonment, battery, and bail jumping. These cases stem from incidents involving the same victim, identified as Jane Doe.
Case 24CF1227
Barnhill is charged with:
- OWI 4th Offense
- Criminal Trespass to Dwelling
- False Imprisonment
- 2nd Degree Sexual Assault – Use of Force
- Battery
- Disorderly Conduct
- Two counts of Felony Bail Jumping
His cash bond was originally set at $100,000 on August 16, 2024, and was later reduced to $80,000 by Judge Jason Rossell, though he never posted bail.
Case 24CF1228
Barnhill is also charged with:
- Two counts of Felony Bail Jumping
- Disorderly Conduct
- Battery
- 4th Degree Sexual Assault
In this case, his bond was initially set at $50,000 but was later reduced to $19,000 by Judge Jason Rossell, which he also did not post. A motion for joinder of these two cases is currently pending before the Kenosha County Circuit Court.
Intimidation Allegations and Jailhouse Calls
Detective Tommar Franklin of the Kenosha Police Department reviewed recorded phone calls between Barnhill and his mother, Kathleen Vandenberg, from the Kenosha County Jail. The calls revealed Barnhill’s repeated attempts to coerce Jane Doe into recanting her statements against him. Some key exchanges include:
- On August 15, 2024, Barnhill instructed his mother to contact Jane Doe and persuade her to drop the charges.
- On August 16, 2024, Vandenberg informed Barnhill that she had spoken to Jane Doe, who had shared an audio recording of Barnhill yelling at and attacking her.
- Barnhill repeatedly pressured his mother to convince Jane Doe to recant her allegations and to speak with his attorney to change her statement.
- Conversations between Barnhill and Vandenberg suggested coded language was used, referring to Jane Doe as “Aunt Ann” to disguise their discussions about witness tampering.
- Barnhill at times implied suicidal thoughts, blamed alcohol for his actions, and asserted that the charges should be dropped.
Further Evidence of Witness Intimidation
Text messages between Barnhill and Jane Doe prior to the August 15, 2024, incident revealed signs of coercion and threats. In one exchange on August 8, 2024, Jane Doe texted, “You’re scaring me,” to which Barnhill responded, “If you don’t bring Mateo back I’m calling the police.” Later that day, Jane Doe messaged, “I can’t do this, that was the very last straw.”
Additionally, Vandenberg admitted during recorded calls that she was worried about getting into trouble for her involvement in contacting Jane Doe on Barnhill’s behalf.
Barnhill’s Criminal Record
Barnhill has a history of criminal offenses, with three misdemeanor convictions in the past five years, qualifying him as a repeat offender under Wisconsin law. Despite his multiple pending cases and ongoing investigation, he has continued to pressure Jane Doe to alter her statements in an attempt to avoid prosecution.
Legal Proceedings
With his initial court appearance scheduled for March 20, 2025, Barnhill remains in jail, unable to post bond in either of his pending felony cases. The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office is expected to argue for the consolidation of cases and additional charges related to witness tampering.
Further developments will be reported as they arise.
Previous coverage:
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
31 Responses
Let me detail my plan over this here recorded county phone line.
What? It was in code!
Ted kmiec could get his charges dropped… hopefully barnhill is smart enough to call him
People always think they can pull something over on
police, by using some trick they saw on TV or
in a movie.
What do they think police watch in their free time, Disney movies?
Dumbass!
The police Watch porn. They especially favor sadistic gay porn.
I concur
He’ll get off and his next step will be murder.
Wondering who his dad is?
Ted kimec?
He deserves the maximum sentence, karma is a bitch and so is Jason Barnhill. Watching too many mafia movies, trying to talk in code. I laughed when I read that. I also think it is out of the complainants hands at this point, even she attempts to drop the charges, WI will still pursue being it’s domestic.
Yeah… He needs to go to the law library while he’s there. Dumbass!
He’s useless. Dumb as a box of rocks.
He will get less time than the young man charged in the motorcycle crash , watch ….
Maybe the old cake with a file in it.Worked for me.
Is he from the Barnhill family that threw a baby in the garbage 25 years ago?
I remember that. So sad.
Yes
who’s going to steal from Toys for Tots this year?
There is no protective order in place? His telephone privileges should be revoked. His mom must be so proud to have raised an alcoholic woman abuse.
Poor baby. Looks like daddy isn’t gonna bail you out this time. This dude has always been a pompous, entitled di@%. I hope justice is served.
I love how the police officer is looking at him. What a POS
He has some evil eyes
And why wasn’t his mother charged for calling and harassing the victim on her son’s behalf? She too needs to sit in a cell too.
Isn’t his mother the one who owned the Coffee Pot or whatever it’s called?
No
His step mom
Fucker should get 12-15 years. So tired of career criminals and repeat offenders getting lenient rulings. Throw the book at this scumbag.
Believe he already turned down a 10+ year plea deal and his arrogant ass is going to take it to trial. His daughter will be in college before he gets out. But at least Toys for Tots won’t have thousands stolen from them anymore.
This guy was a piece of crp in high school too
Why the fuck did this guy just get all violent and sex crimes dismissed so he would plea guilty to bail jumping, disorderly conduct, and Dwi? The judge in this case better give the harshest sentences for each charge. A predator,sex offender, habitual offender should not be given the chance to not be labeled as such. Sad our system failed yet again. Your jobs are to keep dangerous people locked up this one just keeps getting let off. Shit job from kenosha courts yet again. What happened to goinh hard on crime DA Solis? This is why we voted for change to get the same fucking results.
Such a joke, he will get a slap on the hand and will be out in a couple years. Nice job Solis, I see things won’t change with you. If I could only take my vote back smh