This is what happens when there’s no law and order, the justice system stops functioning, the cops don’t respond, and the authorities pretend everything is fine.
Authorities have formally charged a Madison man accused of both joining a crowd of people who broke into Goodman’s Jewelers and stealing $10,000 worth of jewelry amid looting in late May, as well as one of the people accused of tearing down the Hans Christian Heg statue and tossing it into Lake Monona earlier this week.
The allegations against Kelsey D. Nelson were detailed in two criminal complaints released Friday. Nelson, 30, will be in Dane County Court for his preliminary hearing on July 2. If convicted, Nelson could face 12 years in prison and upwards of $25,000 in fines.
Expect him to get probation. If even that.
Madison has been shocked by the latest violence, but Black Lives Matter and its allies are still running the show.
Investigators also conclude that the total sum of jewelry taken from Goodman’s is estimated to be worth $10,000, according to the complaint. The damage to the Hans statue is estimated to be worth $30,000.
Heg had fought for the Union. Meanwhile, Nelson is everything you expect in a guy who could benefit from time in a stone hotel.
According to the first complaint, police said Nelson and and others ran into Goodman’s Jewelers on State Street after suspects smashed windows with sticks. The alleged incident occurred amid protests over the death of George Floyd as well as looting and vandalism that broke out on May 30.
Once inside, the complaint states Nelson walked to the back of the jewelry store and kicked a display, removed several items from inside and walked out of the store visibly carrying jewelry.
On Friday, prosecutors formally charged Nelson with burglary of a building or dwelling – repeater and felony criminal damage to property. Court records indicate Nelson was previously convicted of theft, a felony, in Dane County Court.
If only we had some sort of system for locking up repeat offenders until we were pretty sure that they posed no threat to society. We used to call it the penal system.
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