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Wis. fugitive surrenders after weeks on the run

Authorities had been searching for Jonathan Pogreba since a domestic disturbance at his home in the Town of Eagle on June 5. According to a criminal complaint, Pogreba pointed a gun at his wife and assaulted her.
Credit: Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities say "do not attempt to stop Jonathan Pogreba yourself. He is believed to be armed and dangerous."

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Fugitive suspect Jonathan Pogreba walked into the Waukesha County Courthouse Thuursday, but he did not walk out.

On the run for more than two weeks, the 43-year-old Eagle man, wanted for allegedly assaulting his wife at gunpoint on June 5, was arrested inside the courthouse and led off in handcuffs to the county jail just minutes after he turned himself in around 1 p..m..

The surrender officially ended a 15-day manhunt which began in Eagle, with warnings to area residents that he was armed and dangerous. The high-level search was later extended into the La Crosse area and Minnesota.

Pogreba had been scheduled to make an appearance before a judge during the intake court session on Thursday. Instead, he was arrested upon arrival. Authorities said the earliest he will appear on the charges, filed June 6, is Friday.

Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Patrick Esser said the department was notified June 20 that Pogreba had retained an attorney, Donna Kuchler, and planned to turn himself in.

The manhunt stemmed from an incident that was reported at 2:51 p.m. June 5 at Pogreba's wife's home on Wilton Road west of Highway 59.

According to a criminal complaint filed June 6 in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Pogreba attacked his wife in a violent domestic incident after she filed divorce papers. He allegedly pointed a gun at her face as the two struggled inside and outside the home.

Their son, who was not named in the complaint, fired a shotgun after confronting his father, who fled, later returned, then fled again when his son again fired in his direction.

Over the next day, the sheriff's department, assisted by numerous other area law enforcement agencies, searched in and around Eagle. The local manhunt was called off when authorities discovered a car had been stolen near his home.

As the search expanded westward, investigators discovered Pogreba's credit card had been used in Mauston, a small town located directly off Interstate 90/94 en route to the La Crosse area. Then someone assumed to be Pogreba broke into a cabin owned by one of his relatives June 7 in the town of Preston, about 33 miles northeast of Mauston.

Investigators found blood and a note, likely written by Pogreba, in the cabin. Authorities said the note explained that he had removed the license plates from a BMW he stole and would be traveling to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, where he planned to abandon the car and continue on foot.

The sheriff's department offered no information on leads they had been following, and it was unknown what prompted Pogreba to turn himself in.

In his absence authorities filed four charges against Pogreba in Waukesha County Circuit Court. He stands accused of battery, disorderly conduct, second-degree recklessly endangering safety and intentionally pointing a firearm at a person -- all as domestic abuse offenses.

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