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Miller pleads insanity at arraignment

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by Ken Harris

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Jesse A. Miller, 20, the man who caused the University of Wisconsin campus to lock down multiple buildings in September last semester, entered his official plea of not guilty for reasons of insanity Monday to charges stemming from an incident that occurred in the Dane County Jail in January.

Miller pled insanity at an arraignment in front of Dane County Circuit Judge Daniel Moeser to charges he assaulted a sheriff’s deputy, according to his attorney Eric Schulenburg.

“This stems from an incident in the jail,” Schulenburg said. “He is charged with assaulting a prison guard. It happened within the last couple of months.”

Miller previously caused a campus scare when he called police Sept. 25, saying he was armed and at the UW Hospital parking ramp.

UW put the hospital and all nearby buildings on lockdown. The university also sent out campuswide e-mails warning students, staff and faculty of the potential danger.

Miller later called police pretending to be his brother and gave false information about where they could find him, sending them on a nearly weeklong chase.

He was arrested at a naval hospital in San Diego, Calif., two days later after presenting a fake ID. He was held for a parole violation from an earlier charge.

Miller had been sentenced to one year on a work-release program and eight years of probation Feb. 2, 2007, following an armed robbery that occurred in February of the previous year. The terms of Miller’s sentence stated he must stay in a residential treatment program that provided drug and psychiatric treatment or he would be placed in jail.

According to UWPD, Miller “disappeared” from his treatment program Sept. 9, two weeks before he made the bogus calls to the police.

Miller has not yet been charged regarding the specific events of Sept. 25. Dane County Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer said the DA’s office is waiting until they receive all the information before filing any charges.

“My office is still awaiting a complete report from UWPD,” Verveer said.

Verveer said there was no hurry to charge for the September events because Miller still has jail time to serve and other cases pending.

Two separate charges have been filed against Miller regarding incidents that have occurred within the Dane County Jail since December. In addition to the felony charge of throwing/expelling bodily substances to which he has pleaded not guilty, he has also been charged with criminal destruction of property, a misdemeanor.

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