SALEM LAKES, Wis. — The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office has refiled higher charges against 35-year-old Trevor resident Samuel L. Rojas, upgrading his case from misdemeanors to a felony for an alleged domestic assault on his live-in partner last week.
Rojas was originally charged on October 24 with misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct, both with domestic abuse modifiers. He appeared before Court Commissioner William Michel II that day and was given a $1,500 cash bail. The alleged victim was present in court and visibly distraught but was not permitted to speak — a decision that appeared to violate Marsy’s Law, Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment guaranteeing victims the right to be heard. Commissioner Michel, who has demonstrated little familiarity with the law, did not explain his reasoning for silencing her.
Now, just six days later, prosecutors have refiled the case as a felony. The new complaint, filed October 30, adds a count of strangulation and suffocation, domestic abuse, a Class H felony carrying up to six years in prison, along with the same two misdemeanor charges of battery and disorderly conduct.
According to both complaints, deputies responded to the Kenosha County Center around 10:59 p.m. on October 22 after reports that the woman was driving around “possibly suicidal.” Deputies found her upset and emotional in the parking lot and later learned that she and Rojas had argued earlier that evening at their home on 258th Court in Salem Lakes. She told deputies that Rojas grabbed her by the arms, pulled her hair, knocked her into a drying rack, and placed her in a chokehold that made it difficult to breathe.
Deputies recommended that the DA charge Rojas with felony intimidation of a victim for allegedly threatening her, but that charge was not issued.
Rojas was not in court today. His initial appearance on the upgraded felony charges is scheduled for November 6th, and he remains out of custody on his previous $1,500 cash bail.
If convicted of all three charges, Rojas faces a combined maximum penalty of more than seven years in prison and $21,000 in fines.
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One Response
Nice work, Michel.