(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — For years, Kenosha County Court Commissioner William Michel II (D) has issued bail decisions that have baffled law enforcement, frustrated prosecutors, endangered victims, and undermined public confidence in the criminal-justice system. Time after time, Michel has chosen to release dangerous defendants on low or easily affordable cash bails, even in cases involving threats of violence, use of weapons, drug-distribution operations, and repeated bail jumping. These decisions didn’t just reflect poor judgment; they reflected a worldview that placed the freedom of chronic offenders above the safety of the public.
(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
On Sunday night, that philosophy finally produced the kind of real-world consequence that many in the criminal-justice system have feared for years. According to investigators, Jacob “Jake” Wenzel—an Illinois felon with a long and violent arrest history—allegedly fired a round into a Salem Lakes residence around 11:43 p.m., damaged mailboxes, tore through yards, and later abandoned his truck before being captured on video walking through a nearby subdivision in the early-morning hours. As of this writing, he remained on the run and is considered armed and dangerous.
And why was he out? Because Michel set his bail at just $7,500 cash in an earlier case where Wenzel was charged with felony Terrorist Threats and making threats via computer message. DA Solis asked for a $20,000 cash bail. The allegation: that Wenzel told a bar employee he was going to “spray the place down”, a statement the victim interpreted to mean he intended to come to Hawg Heaven and shoot people inside. According to the complaint, Wenzel also shared his live location at or near the bar just before police were called.
There is no serious argument that a defendant facing these allegations—and with Wenzel’s background—posed anything less than severe danger to the community. Yet Michel approved a bail amount that a violent repeat offender with resources could post without difficulty. And now, the public is living with the consequences.
This is not a one-off mistake. This is part of a years-long pattern in which Michel has repeatedly issued low bails to defendants who later reoffend or escalate their criminal behavior. The public has seen it, law enforcement has seen it, and prosecutors have seen it. What happened in Salem Lakes is not surprising to those who deal with the bail process every day. It was, sadly, predictable.
Before Michel set the $7,500 bail, Wenzel’s arrest and charging history was no mystery. Over the past decade, he has faced a series of serious criminal allegations across Wisconsin and Illinois. In 2013, he was charged in a Kenosha felony case involving violent conduct and threats. In 2015, he was arrested in separate incidents involving domestic violence, criminal damage to property, threats, and resisting police, with officers documenting chaotic scenes where frightened children hid during disturbances. That same year, he faced charges related to disorderly conduct and bail jumping.
In 2016, deputies responded to additional domestic-related incidents in which Wenzel was alleged to have damaged property, threatened individuals, and created dangerous and volatile situations. Police reports from that year describe confrontations in which Wenzel allegedly challenged officers and refused to comply during tense stand-offs.
In 2017, Wenzel was charged in 2017CF698, a case that included an attempted armed robbery allegation. Investigators recovered a Beretta PX4 Storm .40-caliber handgun, ammunition, and other evidence. The armed-robbery charge was later amended down as part of a negotiated resolution, but the allegation itself was profoundly serious and unmistakably violent.
By 2020, the pattern grew more severe. In case 2020CF589, deputies executed a search warrant and reported locating methamphetamine, fentanyl, THC packaging materials, digital scales, a drug ledger, and a loaded Sig Sauer handgun. Wenzel, a convicted felon at that time, was prohibited from possessing guns, yet an operational firearm was allegedly recovered amid what officers described as drug-distribution activity. Around that same period, Wenzel also faced a fugitive-from-justice arrest related to a methamphetamine case in Illinois, where another felony-level matter awaited him.
These cases, combined with numerous allegations over the years—ranging from violence to weapons possession to narcotics trafficking—paint the portrait of a man with a deep and escalating record of dangerous behavior. This is not the kind of defendant any reasonable judicial officer would release on a low cash bail, especially after a new allegation of threatening to carry out a shooting in a public business.
Wisconsin voters recently passed a constitutional amendment giving judges and commissioners broader authority to consider both criminal history and community safety when setting bail in violent cases. The intent of that amendment could not have been clearer: to prevent exactly the kind of scenario Kenosha County is now facing. The public demanded that violent offenders be held accountable and that bail decisions prioritize safety. The amendment gave judicial officers the tools they needed.
Michel chose not to use them.
Instead, he opted for a bail amount that did not reflect the seriousness of the charges, the strength of the evidence, the danger to the public, or the long pattern of behavior documented across multiple jurisdictions. He granted a level of leniency that Wenzel had not earned, did not deserve, and ultimately used to put the community at risk.
If the allegations from Sunday night are proven, then this becomes the clearest example yet of what happens when the justice system fails to take dangerousness seriously. And if, in the future, someone released on one of Michel’s low or no-cash bails kills an innocent person, the responsibility will extend beyond the offender. The blood will be partially on Michel’s hands because these outcomes are foreseeable. They are preventable. And they are directly tied to decisions made in his courtroom.
The community deserves a bail system that protects them. It deserves judicial officers who recognize that violent offenders cannot be cycled in and out of custody as if the stakes were low. And it deserves leaders who use the tools Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly approved.
Michel has failed on those expectations. Salem Lakes is living with the consequences. If nothing changes, it will not be the last community to do so.
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25 Responses
Very well written, and there is no excuse for this and at least one other court commissioners activities like this. We are all aware that bail isn’t meant as punishment, but bail is meant to actually have some effect on the accused regarding his future behavior and willingness to appear on the charges should he be allowed out.
Don’t worry. If he comes around here, the problem will be solved. I also have some buddy’s that frequent that establishment, and he better hope they don’t find him. Street justice will most definitely be served.
Eye roll. Yeah smart to try to provide street justice to a guy who is armed and dangerous. You are likely 360 pounds living in your basement.
6ft 175 lbs you fat cunt. You have a house full of cats, that smells like cat piss. And you reek of alcohol and cigarettes, and haven’t been laid in years.
Once again, the creepy, perverted, immature old man outs himself. This guy likes to publicly brag about his physical and sexual conquests from his days as a middle school rock star. He lacks the social awareness to know that NO ONE CARES and well adjusted normal men don’t act in such a manner.
Pathetic.
I care! I happen to like Heywood. And you are not a nice woman at all!! You need to get laid or something because your ranting about heywood is so old and repetative we can almost predict word for word and it shows such stupidity on your part. I almost feel sorry for you, but I feel more sorry for whoever you live with or are married to.
First, why do you think I am a woman? Socially well adjusted men also don’t respect immature sexually obsessed creepy old men.
You must be part of Jablowme’s biweekly old man circle jerk. Too bad for you.
Mr Jablowme:
Do you understand that you always lash out aggressively at commenters who point out your immature comments? This lashing out demonstrates that you really are immature and creepy.
Like I care what you old bags think. You’re so pathetic, my wife is laughing at you.
She has, what you never will. A real man. Get back to your lonely miserable life.
More evidence of your immaturity. You should just stop commenting. You make it worse when you do.
No, I think heywood has a point😂
Get em Heywood🤣🤣🤣
Yep, this is the same person the heywood hater!!
Yeah sure… Like the street justice Kivi dealt out in Twin lakes. 2 dead drug dealers and the distribution chain in ruins. Name rings a bell….? Any relation to the folks who once owned Twin Lakes liquor? Drug hub for years.
Low bail with this Judge? Check out Mathiew Fox from today and look at history
Michel if he stays on the bench he WILL get someone KILLED his bond amounts are dangerous to the victims and citizens!! He is a third rate attorney at best.
This guy is same idiot the court appointed to represent my then 18 year old son and let me tell you…. prison time and life destroyed by the person appointed to defend him. He did nothing but collect his check.. Typical liberal cuck! Fuck him and his whole family!
I hate to say this but it’s likely true. It’s NOT entirely Michel’s fault but a systemic failure contributes mightily to this.
At one time the warrants were presented to the commissioners with the stack of prior DA files so that they could, if they wish, see the prior record. But the DA’s office went paperless. Now there are no physical files sent to the commissioners but rather an electronic file containing ONLY the criminal complaint and proposed warrant with blank spaces for the commissioners to electronically sign and endorse bail. There isn’t an assistant DA handing the file to the commissioner and/or making any bail recommendation. Just a criminal complaint and proposed warrant. No prior record information (unless a repeater allegation is in the complaint). No information about the prior crimes as Kevin wrote above. Pretty much that’s it.
You’ll never be able to fix everything that’s wrong with this process but quite a bit could be fixed and Michel should be on top of it. He could at a minimum demand prior record information which is what the prosecutors should be reciting to him when someone appears in court at an initial appearance. Why shouldn’t Michel (and the other commissioners) be denied this information when setting bail on a warrant? This could be addressed in a matter of days.
Let the bikers have at him.
Blue city judge in the blue city of Kenosha, an unsafe shit hole. Can you expect anything less?
Remember though, our Mayor is all about safety yet as always, “No comment.” He doesn’t want to upset the liberal voters who elected him.
I want to see this happen with JUDGE ROSSEL as well. They abuse their authority and I hope it all falls back on these judges. Someone has to die before anything happens. I just hope they fix it before that happens. So many victims and no justice.
In Kenosha, city and county, think twice about reporting a crime and even worse testifying against the perpetrator because it is likely a Judge will release the criminal and you face a good chance you might be the next victim.
Best defense is to avoid Democrat run Kenosha altogether.
Maybe low bail is set because the DA’s office lacks the capacity to efficiently and effectively prosecute criminals.
Court Commissioner William Michel II has gotten off many bad, very bad criminals! Just recently, he got another woman off that killed somebody with fentanyl out of jail again! In my opinion, I think he should be thrown in jail! He’s just as bad as her and the rest of them!
I have to agree this mfs bail is way lower than my sons & my son is a party to a crime. Talk about bullshit my sons bail is 10k first felony & I even gave my son spankings & taught him better than this..