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SOMERS — A Kenosha man is facing more than a dozen felony charges for allegedly entering a convenience store and threatening to shoot and kill people on Monday afternoon.
Jonathan James Petersen, 19, was charged with 16 counts of making terrorist threats with a dangerous weapon and one misdemeanor count of harassment with a weapon Wednesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court.
Petersen is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He faces decades in prison if convicted.
According to the criminal complaint, dispatch reportedly received multiple calls from different callers regarding the incident at the Kwik Trip store, 5800 31st St. One caller reported there was a male pointing a gun at an employee saying “I’m done, I’m done.” Another reported that the male with the gun threatened to kill people or himself.
As one responding deputy reportedly proceeded to the main entrance a customer exited the store and advised that there was still a male inside with what appeared to be a firearm. As deputies entered the store they reportedly gave verbal commands to the male, later identified as Petersen. Petersen was reportedly armed with what appeared to be a firearm and nine inch knife. A female employee was reportedly sitting just a few feet from Petersen when deputies made contact with him.
According to the complaint, Petersen yelled “shoot me, shoot me” over and over. Deputies reportedly told Petersen they were not there to shoot him and ordered him to drop his weapons. The defendant continued to say “please shoot me” and “do you know how much time I will have to serve in prison.”
Petersen then tossed his firearm on the counter and backed away from it, but then proceeded to take the knife in his right hand and press it into the right side of his neck, according to the complaint. Petersen repeatedly stated he wanted to die and told deputies to shoot him.
A deputy stunned Petersen with a Taser, but he reportedly continued yelling. The deputy deployed his Taser a second time and was then able to handcuff Petersen.
Another deputy located several employees that appeared very frightened hiding in a closet, and others hiding in other parts of the building. One employee reportedly stated he was “fearful for his safety in light of the number of mass shootings in the country.”
While on scene, a deputy was approached by a middle aged man “who appeared visibly distraught and was shaking.”
The man told the deputy that when he entered the store, he saw Jonathan Petersen with what appeared to be a rifle standing near a female Kwik Trip employee. According to the witness, Jonathan Petersen stated things to the effect of “I’m going to (expletive) commit suicide” and “I’m going to shoot someone.” The witness then stated Jonathan Petersen leaned in his direction, so he ran out of the store and called 911.
According to the complaint, some store employees hid in a freezer while others hid in the office before law enforcement arrived and apprehended Jonathan Petersen. Some employees interviewed by investigators said they feared for their lives.
When investigators examined the weapons they determined the firearm was a Crossman Full Auto A4-P BB gun.
“The gun was black and made from stamped metal, and appeared to be a legitimate rifle with no bright colored end cap on the barrel and a removable metal magazine,” according to the complaint.
Jonathan Petersen later agreed to speak with investigators and reportedly stated he had gone to Kwik Trip with an airsoft gun and a knife and walked up to someone he had “had an issue with in the past.”
“The defendant stated he knew she worked at the Kwik Trip and that he wanted to scare her and others. The defendant was aware that there was an active protection order against him with (the woman), referring to it multiple times throughout the interview. The defendant stated that he planned to go do the same thing at the Pick n’ Save he worked at after he left Kwik Trip to confront another co-worker he had problems with,” according to the complaint.
The woman allegedly harassed by Jonathan Petersen told deputies “he had been planning this for months, ever since the restraining order hearing” and “was scared to death that the defendant might shoot her and thought back to the restraining order hearing.”
No deputies, employees or customers were reportedly physically harmed during the incident.
A preliminary hearing is set for June 23.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outline of a bipartisan Senate agreement on reining in gun violence has no game-changing steps banning the deadliest firearms. But it does propose measured provisions that could make it harder for some young gun buyers, or people considered threatening, to have weapons. And there are meaningful efforts to address mental health and school safety concerns. There's pressure on both parties to act after last month's mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. But details of the plan remain in negotiation between Democrats and Republicans, with disagreements over how tightly the initiatives should be drawn. Here's a look at where things stand.
Here's what's in and out of the agreement:
When people age 18 to 20 try buying firearms, the required federal background check would for the first time include their juvenile crime and mental health records. To allow time for getting data from state and local authorities, the process' current three-day maximum would be extended up to seven more days, according to aides following the talks. Once the 10 days lapse, the buyer could get the weapon, even if the record search is incomplete.
Currently, dealers considered in the "business" of selling guns are required to get federal firearms licenses. Such sellers must conduct background checks. Bargainers want to cover more people who, while not running a formal business, occasionally sell weapons.
The framework calls for grants to help states enforce or enact "red flag" laws that let authorities get court orders temporarily taking guns from people deemed dangerous. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have such statutes, but some lack funds to enforce them robustly.
Penalties would be toughened for so-called straw purchasers, those buying guns for others who don't qualify. More current or former romantic partners convicted of domestic abuse, or targeted with restraining orders by their victims, would be barred from getting guns. The ban applies today if the couple was married, lived together or had children together.
Inclusion of the tougher restrictions against straw purchasers and estranged partners were surprises because they'd been blocked by Republicans before.
Democrats say there will be billions of dollars to expand mental health initiatives. This would pay for more community behavioral health centers, strengthened suicide prevention and violence intervention efforts and increased access to mental telehealth visits.
There would be new sums for school safety. These could include better security at building entrances, training for staff and violence prevention programs. The dollar amount is unclear.
About the photo: New Washington, Ohio, Chief of Police Scott Robertson talks with fourth grade students as they huddle in closet a during a lockdown drill at the St. Bernard School in New Washington, Ohio, Jan. 14, 2013.
Democrats responsive to constituents who strongly favor gun curbs want the new law to be as stringent as possible. Republicans want nothing that would turn their adamantly pro-gun voters against them.
This means tough bargaining on the fine print of the legislation.
How narrowly will a new definition of which sellers need federal firearms licenses be written? Are there limits on which juvenile records would be accessible during background checks for younger buyers?
What conditions would states have to meet to qualify for "red flag" funds? What legal protections would people have if the authorities consider them too risky to have firearms?
How much money will the package cost? No one has said, though people familiar with the discussions say a ballpark $15 billion is possible. And how will it be paid for?
A leader of the effort, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters Monday that bargainers plan to pay for the costs with offsetting spending cuts or new revenues. The latter could be a no-go for Republicans.
Leaders hope the package can be written and approved before Congress begins its July 4 recess.
President Joe Biden has proposed reviving the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired after a decade, or raising the minimum age for buying one from 18 to 21. He wants to ban high-capacity magazines.
He'd repeal the legal immunity from liability protecting gun makers. He wants safe storage requirements for guns and a federal "red-flag" law to cover states without one.
None of those made it into the bill; nor did universal background checks. Biden backs the agreement anyway in the name of a compromise that would produce an achievement.
Ten senators from each party joined in announcing the gun outline and saying they backed it. Those numbers are not a coincidence.
They signal potentially enough support for passage by the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats will need at least 10 GOP backers to reach the usual 60-vote threshold. Besides Murphy, the other lead negotiators were Sens. John Cornyn (pictured), R-Texas, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
Approval in the Democratic-run House is expected, though complications could always emerge.
Another bargainer, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (left), D-Conn., said he hopes Republicans will see that "the gun lobby is weaker than they think." But there are signs that approving future restrictions will be challenging.
For one thing, this spurt of action on guns is Congress' most significant since the now-expired assault weapons ban was enacted three decades ago. That spotlights how hardened positions can be lasting.
Another clue is the makeup of the agreement's 20 announced supporters. Blumenthal and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., are the only two running for reelection this year.
Four others, all Republicans, are retiring in January: Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
The rest don't face reelection until 2024 or 2026.
They are Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mitt Romney of Utah.
The Democrats are Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Coons of Delaware, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, allied with Democrats, also backed the proposal.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina
Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina
Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia
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At about 12:10 a.m. Monday, Racine County dispatch received a call of shots having been fired on Racine's south side; the scene wasn't investigated for another 12 hours "due to the call volume" at the time.
The man reportedly lived with the dead body in the home for weeks. By the time authorities arrived, the body could not be identified through conventional means because it was so decomposed.
A crash that appears to have involved a tanker truck and a semi-truck on Highway 11 east of Union Grove has sent black smoke billowing into the sky, visible from miles around.
According to the RPD, the 21-year-old was shot in the forearm, foot and groin. The injuries were reported to be non-life threatening.
A Racine man faces one misdemeanor charge after he was accused of shooting a gun into the air five times Thursday evening.
Joseph E. Ziegler, 31, from Cudahy, is charged with a felony count of intoxicated use of a vehicle causing great bodily harm
A Racine man has been accused of breaking a woman's wrist after he was asked to move from a park bench to make way for a bridal shower.
RACINE — A Racine woman has been accused of threatening to kill a man as well as threatening officers.
A Racine man allegedly fired a gun into the air to break up a water fight between children.
A Racine man who was seen Tuesday night brandishing a handgun, which was later found to be a stolen firearm, has been arrested, newly filed criminal charges say.
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