More arrests in multi-county drug bust

The arrests continued to grow over the past week as a result of the Door-Kewaunee Drug Task Force’s eight-month investigation into the sale and delivery of narcotics in the region.

As of Monday, 32 people in Door and Kewaunee counties have been arrested. This includes at least two unnamed minors. Several 17-year-olds were arrested and are being charged as adults.

Six local men were taken in early last week, as reported in the Feb. 25 issue of the Star-News, and two others made court appearances Feb. 24 on charges in the drug bust. A case has been filed against another man related to the drug bust.

Appearing Feb. 24 in Kewaunee County Court related to the drug bust are Donald R. Polk Jr. of Algoma, 36, and Timothy J. Stahl of Forestville, 40.

Polk is charged with two felony counts of manufacturing and/or delivering LSD and one count of manufacturing and/or delivering THC.

Stahl is charged with manufacturing and/or delivering THC. Stahl is also facing charges in Door County related to the same task force operation. He is charged in Door County with one felony count for manufacturing and delivering THC.

Also, Noah Gum of Kewaunee, 20, was charged with one felony count of manufacturing and/or delivering THC. Bond was set at $5,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m. March 23. Gum was one of the six arrested who were reported in the Feb. 25 Star-News, but his name was not available at that publication’s press deadline.

The five arrested who were named in the Feb. 25 Star-News are Zachary T. Gum of Kewaunee, 17; Jesse L. Snodgrass of Kewaunee, 21; Jacob L. Jones of Algoma, 34; Jamey W. McCracken of Luxemburg, 19; and Joshua R. Duquaine of Casco, 24.

A case has been filed in Kewaunee County Court against Martin Hilsabeck of Sturgeon Bay, 30. A bench warrant also has been issued for Hilsabeck in relation to the drug sweep.

Hilsabeck is facing three charges of manufacturing and delivering heroin, and two charges of manufacturing and delivering cocaine. All are felonies.

A special prosecutor, Kewaunee County corporation counsel and assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Wisnicky, has been assigned to handle the case for Robert J. Kluth of Sturgeon Bay. Kluth, 23, is expected to be charged with manufacturing and/or delivering schedule I and II narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is scheduled to appear in Door County Circuit Court at 10 a.m. March 20.

The task force executed a drug search warrant over the weekend in the town of Nasewaupee in Door County, its sixth such warrant in connection with the ongoing multi-county drug bust, said Door County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Pat McCarty.

Three search warrants were used Feb. 20, the first day of the operation. Two warrants were used at Nasewaupee residences where defendant Lucas W. Ansell, 31, was known to recently have been living. Ansell is charged with nine felony drug-related charges and two misdemeanors for possession of drug paraphernalia.

A third search warrant was served on a Brussels home where Megan Perez Jorns, 23, and Samuel S. Schmelzer, 28, were living. Both were arrested as part of the investigation. Jorns is charged with 19 drug-related felonies and three misdemeanors for possession of drug paraphernalia. Schmelzer has yet to appear in court.

A probation search was also conducted on Feb. 20 in the town of Sevastopol but McCarty did not know whose home it was.

On Feb. 22, search warrants were executed on the Sturgeon Bay home where 17-year-old Cobain Swender lives and a Sevastopol home where a juvenile defendant in the case lives, McCarty said.

No arrests were made Saturday, he said. Those assisting with the search included drug investigators from Door and Kewaunee counties, K9 units, and the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Evidence and investigation

Some of the drugs found over the course of the week include marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines, he said. No weapons were seized.

“We’re still working on processing all the evidence. There is a number of vehicles that have been seized that we still need search warrants on before we look at the contents,” McCarty said. “We don’t have a real total yet.”

Samples of the drugs must also be sent to a lab for testing.

Another part of the investigation is processing electronic devices that were seized, he said. An officer from the Sturgeon Bay Police Department is assisting with the forensic examinations.

The “on the street” portion of this investigation is winding down, but a few more arrests are expected, McCarty said.

McCarty is not sure whether the investigation will extend into other counties but some of the defendants were under surveillance while traveling to Brown County.

Rounding up those accused of various drug crimes is not is going to fix the problem, McCarty said.

“We hope it’s going to have an impact. The problem is there is a void and somebody else is going to fall in to fill that void,” he said.

svhernande@doorcountyadvocate.com, Samantha Hernandez on Facebook or 920-743-3321, Ext. 4112.

Christopher Clough of the Door County Advocate and Star-News contributed to the story

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin: More arrests in multi-county drug bust