Man involved in standoff appears in court

ANTIGO — Tuesday afternoon, 17 separate charges were filed against the Antigo man involved in the standoff with police last week Tuesday near the Langlade County Safety Building and Courthouse.

Richard Kaszuba, 49, was charged with felonies including battery, domestic abuse, fleeing an officer, battery or threat to a law enforcement officer, and attempted 1st degree intentional homicide.

Court Commissioner Brent DeBord set bond for Kaszuba at $1 million, the amount recommended by District Attorney Kelly Hays.

DeBord called the high bond appropriate given the “frightening” nature of the allegations, as well as the high potential for Kaszuba to flee.

“Would a reasonable person under these circumstances be expected to have a strong incentive to flee the jurisdiction of the court to avoid the prosecution here? Well, any reasonable person facing these charges would be scared for their life,” DeBord said. “There are very severe allegations here. The timespan that’s available for penalty here is multiple lifetimes, so any reasonable person can be expected to have a deep desire to, as I say, ‘rabbit’ from the situation.”

In her argument for the $1 million bond, in addition to mentioning that victims in the case were requesting the highest amount possible, Hays also categorized Kaszuba as a flight risk, saying he had already demonstrated a disregard for following orders.

“He was advised that there was a warrant for his arrest, and his response was threats and profanity instead of complying with that,” Hays said. “He did not comply with officers’ orders. He did not comply with emergency lights or sirens. All of that I think leads to the potential that he would not comply with the court orders as well.”

When asked what he believed his bond should be set at, Kaszuba himself said $1, which prompted DeBord to ask whether he had a job.

“No, I pick up cans off the streets for a living,” Kaszuba answered, likely, judging by his demeanor throughout the hearing, out of sarcasm.

According to the criminal complaint, Kaszuba’s girlfriend came to the Langlade County Safety Building July 1 reporting he had struck her repeatedly earlier that day. Police called to inform him a warrant was out for his arrest, which apparently resulted in him calling probation officers and threatening violence against them and police officers if they attempted to take him into custody.

Then on July 2 around 5:54 p.m., Kaszuba showed up at the door of a house in the city swearing at the residents inside. He lifted his shirt at one point and showed a woman what she thought was a gun. He then drove away, striking the mailbox and screaming, “I’ll f***ing kill you,” as he left.

Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Meshak located Kaszuba’s car and followed him to the intersection of 5th Ave. and Clermont St., where the defendant stopped in the middle of a green light and reversed into Meshak’s squad car.

Meshak then pursued Kaszuba as he sped into a parking lot near Antigo Bakery, almost striking Beer 30, then ran two stop signs on Lincoln St. before turning onto 3rd Ave. Kaszuba then veered into the oncoming lane and rammed into an approaching officer’s marked squad vehicle. The officer attempted to avoid the collision by reversing her vehicle, but was still struck and spun completely around. The officer suffered several relatively serious injuries, including a hip contusion and concussion.

Kaszuba exited the vehicle after being ordered to do so by numerous officers, but then got back in and drove to the Wagner Oil parking lot directly across Edison St. from the courthouse. During the standoff, he ignored commands to surrender, only exiting after pepper spray was deployed into his vehicle.

He fought back extensively as police attempted to take him into custody, kicking and threatening and even spitting at officers, until they eventually strapped him to a restraint chair and put a spit hood on him.

Alcohol seems to have been a factor in the incident.

Kaszuba’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 22 at 1:30 p.m.