September 5, 2014 at 4:22 p.m.
Former Harshaw woman turns herself in on warrant stemming from 2012 conviction
Former Harshaw woman turns herself in on warrant stemming from 2012 conviction
Linda A. Harding, 63, appeared before Branch I Judge Patrick O'Melia, the same judge who had presided over her jury trial on Feb. 9, 2012. After hearing testimony, a jury convicted Harding of resisting or obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct with a weapon enhancer. She fled the county before she could be sentenced and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
The charges arose from an action to evict her from a trailer in Harshaw on Oct. 20, 2011. According to a police report of the incident, Oneida County Sheriff's deputies executing the eviction told Harding to gather some personal belongings and leave the trailer.
Harding claimed she was a "sovereign citizen" and did not recognize the eviction proceedings. She also stated that she had filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn the order. The deputies told her she would still have to leave the premises and she started gathering belongings.
According to the report, Harding went into a bedroom in the trailer at one point and retrieved a rifle from a closet. She was trying to work the action when a deputy saw her, the report states. She was wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and taken to jail.
During the 2012 trial O'Melia refused to admit several pieces of evidence that Harding tried to introduce using the "sovereign citizen" argument. People who consider themselves sovereign citizens do not recognize any government authority other than their own personal interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
Unlike her jury trial in February 2012 when she acted as her own counsel, on Wednesday she was represented by attorney James Koppelman.Oneida County District Attorney Michael Schiek explained that the resisting an officer and disorderly conduct case is set for sentencing but Harding had yet to make an initial appearance on a separate charge of intentionally pointing a firearm. That case also stems from the 2011 eviction. Wednesday's appearance was considered her initial appearance on that charge.
When O'Melia asked Schiek for a bond recommendation on the felony case, the prosecutor suggested a high signature bond.
He noted Harding had been apprehended on the warrant in Missouri and was incarcerated there for 79 days before being released on bond to appear before any court in Wisconsin. She voluntarily returned to Oneida County to make the appearance after contacting Koppelman, who in turn, contacted the district attorney's office to set up the court date.
"The court is probably more familiar with this case than I am," Schiek said. "I will leave it to the court's discretion, and allow Mr. Koppelman to make an argument. But obviously, she is here and she has counsel."
Koppelman told O'Melia that Harding had been in Osage Beach, Mo. with an ex-husband. He did not share many other details of Harding's activities over the last few years.
"I didn't ask for a timeline from Miss Harding from when she left Wisconsin," Koppelman said.
He added that he could not understand "why the two states could not get on the same page as far as extradition" after she was arrested in Missouri on the warrant. He said he told Harding that the easiest way to resolve the situation would be for her to come back and appear before O'Melia.
When asked about ties to the community, Koppelman said Harding has family and friends in the area that she can stay with until the matter is resolved. Even if she were to return to Missouri, she has the funds to make the trip back for her preliminary hearing, he added. Harding told O'Melia that she had a job prior to being incarcerated on the warrant and might have one lined up when she gets back.
O'Melia set a $10,000 signature bond and scheduled a preliminary hearing Sept. 17 for at 3:45 p.m. on the felony charge. Sentencing on the completed misdemeanor case will be postponed until that case is completed, with the same signature bond to cover both cases. Harding forfeited a $500 cash bond when she failed to show up for her sentencing hearing.
"I guess she realizes that it is in her best interest to resolve this so that she can go back and live peacefully without having to look over her shoulder, waiting for someone to pick her up," O'Melia said. "Which would eventually happen, in a month or a year from now."
After the hearing, Schiek said he and Koppelman are discussing a potential plea agreement that would resolve the matter by the preliminary hearing.
Harding faces up to 15 months in jail on the two misdemeanor charges. If convicted of the felony charge of pointing a firearm at a police officer, she could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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