On Friday morning, Assistant Dane County District Attorney Brian Asmus contacted Isthmus to relate that he intends to dismiss all charges against Kelley Howe, 50, who was arrested on a felony theft charge after trying to recover his own stolen bike.
"I received the follow-up information [from police] I was looking for," said Asmus, who previously said he planned to dismiss only the most serious charge, of felony theft by use of force. "I've made the decision to dismiss all charges [at an already scheduled court appearance] next Monday."
As Isthmus reported on July 22, Howe was charged with felony theft, misdemeanor damage of property and misdemeanor disorderly conduct after flagging down a Madison police officer to report that he had found a bicycle that had been stolen from his brother, Michael Howe.
The police subsequently determined that the bike Howe was charged with attempting to steal was the same one Michael had reported stolen to police in late June. But police suggested they still considered the remaining charges against Howe appropriate, with Madison Police Lt. Stephanie Bradley Wilson telling Isthmus, "He caused a disturbance."
The father of the boy found in possession of the bike, Javier Tecua-Hernandez, was on Tuesday issued a $300 citation for obstructing an officer for changing his story about how he came to gain possession of the bike. (He originally said he bought it from Goodwill but later claimed to have found it.)
Madison police, meanwhile, say they do not intend to follow up on the information, reported in Isthmus, that Tecua-Hernandez is said to work in the building from which the bicycle was stolen. Says Lt. Wilson: "No, I am not assigning a south officer for additional follow-up to the theft that was originally was reported in the Central District."
