(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
KENOSHA, Wis. — A Trevor woman accused of driving impaired with two young children in her SUV and illegally possessing oxycodone may see her felony and OWI case thrown out this week, but a Kenosha County judge can only dismiss the charges if he finds doing so is in the interest of justice. The case was investigated by former Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank McGrath, whose credibility is now under scrutiny after allegations that he misused police databases to track a coworker.
(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
Judge Jason Rossell is scheduled to address the matter Thursday during a status conference in the case against Margaret J. Merkel, 33, of Trevor. Merkel was charged in July 2025 with second-offense operating while intoxicated with two children in the vehicle and felony possession of narcotic drugs after authorities said she crashed her SUV near Paddock Lake Sporting Goods. Prosecutors moved March 23 to dismiss the criminal case and related traffic citations without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled later. However, the motion filed by Assistant District Attorney Vincent Kurta gives no explanation for why the State wants to abandon the prosecution after keeping the case open for more than eight months.
Under Wisconsin law, Rossell cannot simply rubber-stamp the request. A judge must determine that dismissing the case would be in the interest of justice before approving it. That means prosecutors could be forced to explain why they no longer believe the case can move forward.
The timing is significant because McGrath was the lead deputy in the case and authored much of the criminal complaint. According to the complaint, McGrath said he was driving in the 23500 block of Highway 50 on July 20, 2025, when he heard what sounded like a crash and saw Merkel’s GMC Terrain jump a curb near Paddock Lake Sporting Goods. McGrath wrote that Merkel showed signs of impairment including droopy eyelids, stumbling, slow and raspy speech, and nearly falling asleep while standing. He also reported finding oxycodone pills in Merkel’s purse and backpack and said she admitted she did not have a prescription for them. Merkel later provided a preliminary breath sample of .000, leading deputies to suspect drug impairment rather than alcohol. Prosecutors ultimately charged Merkel with second-offense OWI with a minor child in the vehicle and felony possession of narcotic drugs. She was given a $300 cash bail by Court Commissioner William Michel II and later waived her preliminary hearing.
Court records show the case had remained active through early 2026 while the parties awaited blood-test results and other evidence. Rossell rescheduled an earlier February hearing because of an ongoing jury trial and set the matter for an April 2 status conference. On March 23, prosecutors formally filed their motion to dismiss without prejudice.
Since then, however, McGrath’s own credibility has come under intense scrutiny.
McGrath resigned from the Sheriff’s Office after allegations surfaced that he misused Flock camera systems and Polaris squad-tracking software to monitor a female coworker with whom he allegedly had a personal relationship. Court filings accused him of repeatedly using police databases for personal reasons, tracking the woman’s movements, contacting her after being told to stop, and confronting her at county facilities and near her residence. The allegations became serious enough that District 2 Chief Judge Wynne P. Laufenberg later ordered District Attorney Xavier Solis to either file criminal charges against McGrath or explain why he would not.
Those allegations have raised concerns within the defense bar that McGrath should be placed on the Brady list, which is intended to identify law-enforcement officers with sustained credibility problems, dishonesty findings or misconduct that prosecutors are constitutionally required to disclose to criminal defendants.
Former Kenosha police officer Michael Rizzo has also been the subject of calls for Brady disclosure, but neither McGrath nor Rizzo appears to have been publicly identified by the District Attorney’s Office as a Brady officer despite repeated requests over the last year.
The Merkel case may now become the first major prosecution to collapse because of McGrath’s credibility issues. If Rossell dismisses the charges, prosecutors may have to explain why they no longer believe they can rely on McGrath as a witness. If he does not dismiss the case, the State may be forced to explain why McGrath’s credibility concerns were not addressed earlier and whether other cases tied to him could face similar problems.
Rossell is scheduled to hear the matter at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Branch 2.
7 Responses
This might be the picture used in the dictionary next to the definition of the word LOSER
Brady criteria isn’t entirely set in stone. A criminal conviction should be disclosed, of course, but pending charges are not a conviction. That said, if the pending charge had to do with obstructing for lying then it would likely be Brady material and proven dishonesty relating to the job regardless of charges is a definite yes. The devil is in the details. If McGrath or Rizzo were found to have materially lied, they should be on the list now.
And what about Judge Gabriele tossing out an OWI case without an application from the prosecutor required by law?
Blood test and body camera should be enough.
That aside police officers need to be held to the HIGHEST STANDARDS with No second chances.
This is an example of how just one bad action can taint a person for life. As it should.
This is such a joke. Will no one speak up for the children and hold parents like this responsible? Two young kids were in the vehicle when she crashed her suv. The police described her as intoxicated and found narcotics in her possession! I can’t imagine how scared those children were and its a complete shame that the justice system is allowing this case to get dismissed without consequences.
If he is wearing a body camera then let the video speak for itself. Don’t let her off the hook without first seeing if video confirms what’s in the report.
Did I miss something in your article? You don’t say what if any drugs were in her system. (You say there was no reported alcohol. ). Maybe that is a reason they dropped it. Maybe there was nothing and they were embarrassed. As for BRADY list, I know a few cops that were on it. They got sweet jobs at the department that kept them off the street or having to make arrests.
Butchered FTS. She was in possession of narcotic drugs