NEWS
Charges go away in machete event
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by Courtney Johnson
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Charges were dropped against four Madison men involved in an altercation on the 200 block of Lakelawn Place last week.
The men, three of whom were University of Wisconsin students and members of the Acacia fraternity, were involved in a fight with a pitchfork and a machete. According to a release from the Madison Police Department, the fight started after the men heard noises outside coming from people who were camped outside the fraternity in a "large tent."
No one was injured as a result of the altercation. However, charges were tentatively filed against the four men — Justin Baker, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct while armed; Jeffrey Schorfheide, 20, was charged with disorderly conduct while armed; Matthew Christiansen, 22, was charged with resisting; and George Halkias, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting. Schorfheide, a UW junior, is the photo editor for The Badger Herald.
Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer said the District Attorney's Office has decided not to pursue criminal or non-criminal charges.
"The office felt that each of the four cases lacked prosecutorial merit," Verveer said. "They were given today as their mandatory court date, but because we declined to charge them, none of them needed to appear in court this morning."
Verveer said the four men, who were all initially taken to the Dane County Jail, will have the cash bail they posted returned to them.
When interviewed after the incident, MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said he was unsure why the tent was outside the Acacia fraternity to begin with.
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 2:27am):
Obviously this is the Democrat's fault.
- Germain Q. Stemme
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 2:32am):
Oh my god, courtney, jesus do some research. It was a party. Night on the nile. they do it every year. you're so busy writing stories trying to bust people you don't even look into more facts.
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 8:47am):
Nice double standard for the rich kids, huh?
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 10:20am):
I think daddy got them out of this one
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 12:40pm):
How does this article 'bust' anybody? It's saying the charges were dropped. If the police don't know why the tents were there, they don't know, and that's all this says.
Stop misplacing your anger.
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 12:45pm):
Clearly this is the Republican's fault.
- Germain E. Stemme
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 1:05pm):
Get your facts straight. Jeff is the only one of the four who is a member of Acacia.
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 1:17pm):
Some research would be very nice, only one person involved was a member of Acacia. Furthermore, the instigators of the event were members of another fraternity. The lack of factual basis for most of this makes it an opinion article, if you must write opionion articles please do not try to pawn them off as news.
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 5:53pm):
VIVA LOS FRATERNITY GUYS!
Anonymous (May 8, 2007 @ 6:30pm):
The only reason this has gotten any news at all is because this Schorfheide dude is on the staff of the BH. Otherwise, nobody would give a darn. This just goes to show how the incestuous BH reporters pretend to report news with indulging in petty navel gazing.
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