Travis W. Keiler
A Gillett man arrested Tuesday after a two-hour standoff with sheriff’s deputies in Wittenberg was charged Thursday with a felony count of taking hostages while using a dangerous weapon.
Travis W. Keiler, 28, could face a maximum 40 years in prison and $100,000 fine if found guilty.
He also faces a felony count of failing to comply with an officer’s attempt to take him into custody, which carries a maximum 3 1/2 year sentence and $10,000 fine, as well as misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon.
Shawano County sheriff’s deputies responded to a hold-up alarm at the Wittenberg Shell station and McDonald’s, 413 N. Genesee St., just before 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Dispatchers also received a call that there was a man with a gun inside the store who “wanted to shoot it out with the police,” according to the criminal complaint.
Shawano County officials, with the assistance of the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, secured the area and closed U.S. Highway 45 for the duration of the incident. An armored vehicle and a Marathon County sniper were among the resources brought in during the incident.
Nearby Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District elementary and high schools went into lockdown for about 45 minutes as a precaution, according to school officials.
Keiler let everyone out of the building except for a lone McDonald’s employee, whom he kept as a hostage for about an hour.
Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright said the employee — Jacob Kujawa, 26, of Wittenberg — handled the situation amazingly well.
“He was calm and cool,” Wright said, adding that Kujawa’s composure probably played a big part in bringing a peaceful end to the incident.
Kujawa spoke at one point with a Shawano County hostage negotiator and told him he was unharmed but that Keiler was holding a gun on him, according to the criminal complaint.
Keiler told the negotiator he had quit his job in De Pere and had been driving around before ending up at the Wittenberg Shell station.
The negotiator convinced Keiler to release Kujawa as a sign of good faith just after 3 p.m.
Keiler surrendered peacefully about 4 p.m. He was transferred Wednesday afternoon from the county jail to a mental health facility for an evaluation.
An arrest warrant was issued Thursday along with the criminal complaint.