April 15, 2014 at 3:42 p.m.
Alsteens pleads guilty to causing injury by negligent use of a dangerous weapon
Rhinelander man shot uncle in the stomach
Alsteens pleads guilty to causing injury by negligent use of a dangerous weapon
Marcus Alsteens, 24, entered a guilty plea in Oneida County Circuit Court Tuesday to one felony count of causing injury by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon.
Judge Patrick O'Melia accepted the plea but, pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement between Alsteens and the state, deferred entry of judgment for one year. If Alsteens successfully fulfills all required conditions, the charge will be dismissed in March 2015.
Conditions include not committing other crimes and completing a certified firearms safety course. Alsteens is not to handle or possess firearms until he completes a certified firearms safety course.
Three other counts, including attempted first-degree intentional homicide, were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement.
Oneida County District Attorney Mike Schiek indicated in January the case would likely be resolved short of trial.
Schiek said new information from the alleged victim in the case, Justin Alsteens, indicated that the shooting at a Mason Street home on Aug. 12, 2013 was an accident.
"There's still some gray area out there we have to figure out, but I'm not going to keep someone in custody (if the victim is saying it was an accident)," Schiek said. "We were assuming a lot," he added, referring to the initial investigation into the shooting and the attempted homicide charge.
According to the criminal complaint, Marcus Alsteens shot his uncle Justin Alsteens, 49, in the stomach with a 7 mm rifle at the Mason Street residence they shared and then fled the scene. Marcus Alsteens was eventually taken into custody by the Oneida County Sheriff's Office while on Wisconsin Highway 17, near Eagle River.
In an interview with a Rhinelander Police Department detective the day after the shooting, Alsteens provided vague answers about what led to the shooting but alluded to the fact that he and his uncle had been arguing. According to the complaint, Alsteens retrieved a rifle from a cabinet in his bedroom, went into the room his uncle was in and shot him. When the detective asked Alsteens what he was thinking about when he went to go get the gun, Alsteens responded, "I was just really pissed off at that time."
During the interview, Alsteens referenced household chores as one of the things he and his uncle had argued about and said there had been periodic arguments between them for several months.
Based on the interview with Alsteens and the fact that he fled and the evidence at the scene, Schiek said attempted homicide was the appropriate charge at the time.
But for a long time after the shooting, investigators were unable to get a clear picture of the incident from Justin Alsteens' perspective. He was in the intensive care unit at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield for several weeks following the shooting and eventually investigators had an opportunity to interview him on Sept. 5. But, according to previous court testimony, Justin said he didn't remember a lot about the incident. He recalled being shot by Marcus and having the other two people in the home apply pressure to his wounds before medics arrived on scene. A detective said Justin didn't recall any argument with Marcus and didn't know why he was shot.
Schiek said as Justin Alsteens has recovered from his injuries, he's been able to provide more information about the incident.
"Now he's more coherent and able to verbalize (better about what happened)," Schiek said. "He's essentially claiming it was an accident. If there was no intent (then there's no attempted homicide). We still need to do some more followup with the victim. There's some sort of negligence at least."
Alsteens was given credit for 169 days served in the county jail.
His case will be reviewed March 30, 2015.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected]
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