Man accused of serial threats approaching trial

EAU CLAIRE — Trial is approaching for a man who sent a letter to the court signed “The Devil” demanding an end to his prosecution.

Dustin Hewitt, 30, faces charges of making a threat to a law enforcement officer, three counts of threats to injure or accuse of a crime and two counts of terrorist threats interrupting operations. He pleaded not guilty in March.

Hewitt’s address is listed in court records as the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, but the state’s inmate locator says he is being held in a supervised living facility in Winnebago.

The case in Eau Claire began after a detective with the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office received a letter from Hewitt demanding he “tell the truth,” or Hewitt would “decapitate your daughter and everyone of importance to you and bathe in their blood.”

The investigator wasn’t the only person prosecutors say Hewitt targeted with graphic threats. An attorney who handled Hewitt’s father’s estate was threatened as well. The estate’s value was $3,100, but Hewitt was convinced his father had placed thousands of dollars in a safe. When Hewitt didn’t receive the nonexistent money he sent a letter threatening to kill the attorney’s family and “all persons at your firm and your affiliations will be targeted for your crimes.”

Other targets included the Eau Claire County Clerk of Court’s office, which Hewitt accuses of misconduct for filing records in the case.

The current case isn’t much different from Hewitt’s previous cases. Court records show five convictions in Wisconsin courts — in Rusk, Chippewa and Eau Claire counties — and a release date of October 2034.

Two of the three Rusk County cases involve bail jumping, but the third involved charges of making bomb scares, using a computer to send messages threatening harm and disorderly conduct. Hewitt pleaded no contest.

The Chippewa County case involved several counts of bail jumping as well as four counts of bomb scares. The bail jumping charges were dismissed, but jurors found Hewitt guilty on all counts of creating bomb scares.

Conviction on all charges in Eau Claire County could significantly extend Hewitt’s incarceration. Four of the counts are Class H felonies, each of which carry up to six years in prison. The terrorist threats charges are both Class I felonies, which carry up to 3.5 years in prison each.

If Hewitt is convicted, the charges could result in a sentence of up to 31 years in prison, but that’s unlikely. It is more probable that at least some of the charges would see the sentences run concurrently, shortening the overall time.

One of Hewitt’s previous cases suggests even concurrent sentences could last longer than immediately apparent. In that case, the court ordered the new sentences to run concurrently, but for them to begin consecutively to a sentence Hewitt was already serving. If the court issued such a ruling in this case, Hewitt’s Eau Claire County sentence wouldn’t even begin for another decade.