(Still from WISN Still Camera)
KENOSHA, Wis. — Accused wife-killer Marckus Luke Plaza, 34, of Kenosha, was charged Thursday with a felony after investigators allegedly found a homemade shank beneath paperwork associated with his bunk inside the Kenosha County Jail. Prosecutors actually filed essentially the same case Wednesday, but that complaint, drafted by Assistant District Attorney Morgan Millar, was sloppily written and was dismissed almost immediately after Plaza’s attorney challenged probable cause. Prosecutors refiled the case Thursday with additional allegations, and this time Court Commissioner Daniel E. Kellum refused to dismiss it.
(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
Plaza is charged with possession of an illegal article by an inmate, a Class I felony punishable by up to 3½ years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
According to Thursday’s criminal complaint, a Kenosha County Jail inmate asked to speak with investigators Aug. 18 regarding Plaza’s pending homicide case.
The inmate allegedly claimed he had obtained a written confession from Plaza. The inmate is himself charged with attempted homicide in an unrelated case and allegedly demanded a deal from the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office that would allow him to be released on electronic monitoring before he would surrender the paperwork.
Investigators and prosecutors declined to entertain the proposed deal.
Based on information obtained during the investigation, law enforcement secured a search warrant for the jail cell shared by Plaza and the other inmate.
The cell was searched Aug. 19.
According to the complaint, investigators removed paperwork from Plaza’s upper bunk and allegedly discovered an improvised knife underneath it. The weapon was constructed from a hard plastic ballpoint pen.
The complaint alleges the weapon violated Kenosha County Jail Rule 208A.
Prosecutors also added allegations aimed at establishing Plaza knew the jail’s rules. The complaint states Plaza signed an acknowledgment of facility rules when he was booked and says jail rules are displayed on television monitors throughout the facility. An orientation video also reportedly plays every morning in the jail’s day room.
First Case Dismissed Wednesday
Thursday’s filing came one day after prosecutors attempted to charge Plaza with the same offense.
The first complaint was filed Wednesday by Assistant District Attorney Morgan Millar.
That complaint contained significantly fewer details connecting Plaza to the alleged weapon and was challenged almost immediately when Plaza appeared before Kellum.
Defense Attorney Seth Johnson moved to dismiss the case for lack of probable cause. Rather than litigate the issue, prosecutors moved to dismiss the charge without prejudice.
The case was dismissed only hours after it was filed.
The original complaint also contained an explosive allegation that Plaza’s cellmate claimed Plaza wanted to hire him to help facilitate the killings of three witnesses in the pending Makayla Rutka-Plaza homicide case.
That allegation does not appear in Thursday’s replacement complaint.
Prosecutors have not charged Plaza with any offense related to an alleged plan to harm or kill witnesses.
Defense Again Seeks Dismissal
Plaza appeared Thursday before Kellum with Attorney Erin Preston. Assistant District Attorney Douglas Haney appeared for the State.
Preston again moved to dismiss the felony, arguing the complaint did not contain convincing evidence that the illegal article actually belonged to Plaza.
This time prosecutors objected.
Kellum denied the motion and allowed the felony case to proceed.
Kellum set $1,000 cash bail and ordered Plaza to possess no weapons and have no violent contact with the other inmate.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 24 at 9:15 a.m.
Thursday’s replacement complaint was filed by Assistant District Attorney Sarah Norkus and sworn before Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Woolley.
Plaza Still Facing Murder Charge
The jail shank case is separate from Plaza’s pending homicide prosecution.
Plaza is charged with first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon as an act of domestic abuse in the April 1 death of his estranged wife, Makayla Rutka-Plaza, 28.
He is also charged with two felony counts of causing mental harm to a child, entry into a locked building and obstructing an officer. The homicide charge carries mandatory life imprisonment if he is convicted.
Prosecutors allege Plaza stabbed Makayla seven times and inflicted numerous blunt-force injuries while the couple’s young children were present.
One child later told investigators his father used a knife to hurt his mother.
An autopsy documented stab wounds to Makayla’s eye, cheek, neck, chest, abdomen and breast. Investigators said the knife recovered from her eye measured 13 inches long, including an eight-inch blade.
