Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A decision released to the media Wednesday clears two Shawano County sheriff’s deputies of any wrongdoing in the shooting of a Wittenberg man during a disturbance in the town of Almon in February.
Daniel W. Onesti, 53, survived the incident and faces felony counts of reckless endangerment and fleeing an officer.
The officer-involved shooting aspect of the case was investigated by the state Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigations. The results were referred to Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney Greg Parker.
In a June 28 letter to Sheriff Adam Bieber provided to the Leader on Wednesday, Parker wrote that “there is no basis to conclude that Deputy Spencer Russ and Deputy Chase Mason committed any crime when they shot Daniel Onesti.”
Authorities responded on Feb. 17 to a report of a distraught individual who had allegedly made comments threatening violence.
A Shawano County dispatcher made contact with Onesti via cellphone. According to the criminal complaint, he said he had guns with him and would shoot the first cop he saw.
Parker’s conclusion highlighted Onesti’s two conversations with a sheriff’s dispatcher in which he threatened to shoot an officer and wanted to commit “suicide by cop.”
The Shawano County Special Response Team, including members of the Shawano Police Department and the Stockbridge-Munsee Police Department, were dispatched. An armored vehicle, from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, was also called to assist.
It was believed Onesti was in a pickup truck in a field near his residence.
A drone was used to locate the vehicle, which was spotted a short time later on County Road D headed back to his residence.
A short chase ensued, including a failed attempt to stop the vehicle with spike strips even though they shredded two of the vehicle’s tires, as Onesti returned to his property and began driving around several barn buildings and a silo.
Russ and Mason were in a patrol vehicle, one of several that were pursuing Onesti’s vehicle as it drove around the barnyard on the property, according to the report.
At one point, Onesti’s vehicle stopped and came back toward them in reverse. They pulled over and took position while waiting to see what he would do next, according to the report.
According to the criminal complaint, Onesti rammed a sheriff’s squad just prior to the shooting, pushing it back some 30 feet and injuring a deputy.
Russ and Mason heard that information over the radio and drew their duty pistols “as they recognized that this situation had become a deadly force situation,” according to Parker’s letter.
The deputies spotted the vehicle rounding a corner of a silage feed bag, “bouncing” over the terrain and not slowing.
The vehicle turned in their direction, and “floored it,” according to one of the deputy’s accounts, at which point the deputies opened fire and stopped firing when the truck came to a stop. About four or five shots were fired.
Onesti was hit in the shoulder and was still in his vehicle when he was taken into custody.
Parker, citing state statutes, concluded that the deputies “had an actual and reasonable belief that the use of force was necessary to protect themselves personally, to protect each other and to protect other officers that were in the immediate area from a significant threat of death or serious bodily injury.”
He wrote that deputies believed Onesti might have faced an additional threat to the public if he had escaped the scene.
Onesti could face a maximum 12½ years in prison and $25,000 fine if convicted of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and 3½ years and $10,000 if found guilty of using a vehicle to flee an officer.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment July 11. He is being held on a $10,000 cash bond and is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Oct. 26.
Parker declined to add any further comment.
“As there is an open criminal case, I cannot make any public comment other than what is contained within my decision,” he said.