Wisconsin Supreme Court rejects Treu’s motion

Nov. 18—CHIPPEWA FALLS — Colten Treu, who was sentenced to 54 years in jail after inflicting a crash in November 2018 that killed three Lady Scouts and a mom, has run out of appeals in Wisconsin.

On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom denied Treu’s petition to have his case reviewed, mentioned Chippewa County District Lawyer Wade Newell.

“For closure for the victims, I am glad the Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom has denied his petition,” Newell mentioned Friday afternoon. “It means his appeals in Wisconsin are over.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom wrote in a 6-1 assertion to not take up the case, with Justice Rebecca Dallet displaying a willingness to listen to the case, Newell mentioned.

“It means she needed to take the case up, not that she essentially would have sided in (Treu’s) favor,” Newell defined.

The Wisconsin Courtroom of Appeals, District III, rejected Treu’s request in July. Treu had pleaded no contest to 4 counts of murder by intoxicated use of a automobile and one rely of hit and run, inflicting nice bodily hurt. Choose James Isaacson sentenced Colten R. Treu in March 2020 to serve 54 years in jail; he’s presently incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Establishment in Waupun. In March 2021, Isaacson rejected Treu’s request to withdraw these pleas.

Previous to coming into a plea, Treu had thought of requesting a trial be held in a distinct county.

“One of many essential causes I did not go to trial is as a result of there wasn’t a change in venue. We did not discover a truthful jury, could be (doable), in Chippewa County,” Treu testified final 12 months, through video from jail. “I do not assume I might discover a jury pool in Chippewa County would have been truthful and neutral.”

In its ruling, the Courtroom of Appeals rejected the request to withdraw pleas.

“As a result of the guilty-plea-waiver rule is a collateral consequence, it’s not sufficient for Treu to indicate that he mistakenly believed he would be capable to attraction the venue choice on attraction,” the Courtroom of Appeals ruling reads. “He should display that one or each of his trial attorneys, the prosecutor, or the circuit courtactually misinformed him on that time. Treu made no allegation that the courtroom or prosecutor had misinformed him, nevertheless, and he admitted that neither of his attorneys particularly mentioned that Treu might attraction the venue situation. No less than one of many attorneys instructed Treu that he might attraction, typically.”

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The 11-page ruling concludes: “As a result of Treu has not alleged that he misunderstood any direct penalties of his pleas, and he has not established that he was really misinformed about any collateral penalties, we conclude his pleas have been realizing and voluntary.”

Treu additionally contended that his trial attorneys offered ineffective help by failing “to obviously advise” him that he could be waiving his proper to attraction the venue choice. The appeals courtroom additionally rejected that argument.

On the March 2020 sentencing, Newell requested a 90-year jail sentence, whereas Treu’s attorneys sought a 22-year sentence together with 63 years of prolonged supervision.

Treu was accused of huffing from an aerosol canister at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, then crashing his pickup truck into members of Lady Scout Troop 3055 as they have been choosing up trash alongside Freeway P in Lake Hallie, south of the Freeway 29 overpass. The 4 individuals killed within the crash have been Autumn Helgeson and Jayna S. Kelley, 9, each of Lake Hallie, Haylee J. Hickle, 10, and her mom, Sara Jo Schneider, 32, each of the city of Lafayette. One other Lady Scout, Madalyn Zwiefelhofer, was significantly injured; her household has since sued Treu, with trial dates now set for spring 2024.

Treu left the scene instantly after hanging the 5 individuals. Officers adopted a contemporary fluid path from the broken pickup truck on the crash scene 1.8 miles to Treu’s dwelling. The truck, parked contained in the storage, had “vital front-end injury, with weeds noticed caught within the entrance bumper,” the prison criticism states. Nevertheless, Treu was not dwelling. He turned himself in shortly earlier than 5 p.m.

A take a look at from the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene did not detect any chemical substances or medicine in Treu’s blood pattern. Nevertheless, as a result of Treu did not keep on the scene, a blood draw could not be instantly taken. The blood draw was taken after 7 p.m. that day.

A passenger within the automobile, John Stender, additionally was convicted of harboring/aiding a felony-falsifying data. Treu claims Stender grabbed the wheel of the truck, inflicting the automobile to swerve and strike the Scouts. Stender was sentenced in September 2021 to a few years in jail for his position within the crash, however he was launched in August after serving about 11 months.