Retzlaff arrested in Wittenberg on warrants

Ann Retzlaff, owner of Annie’s Campground, was arrested April 20 on two body-only warrants at the Wilderness restaurant and gas station in Wittenberg, almost five months after she failed to appear in court on charges of recklessly endangering safety, fleeing/eluding an officer and resisting during her initial arrest.

Shawano County Chief Deputy George Lenzner said Retzlaff was spotted there during the afternoon hours. The sheriff’s department had already been alerted by a tip that she was back in Shawano County a week ago, with Lenzner noting that officials had suspected she would return to get the campground ready for the summer months.

This arrest was a little less complicated than Retzlaff’s initial arrest May 15, 2021, when she led law enforcement on a chase through the Shawano area, but Lenzner said she was not cooperative and “not a happy camper” when deputies took her into custody this time.

“She was kind of surrounded,” Lenzner said. “We sent a few officers out there, and she was out of her car. We’ve been watching for her and trying to find her over the weekend, and then we had the tip she was over at the restaurant into Wittenberg.”

Lenzner said Retzlaff did not answer any questions after being taken into custody. However, the sheriff’s department learned that she had been spotted in Virginia earlier this year, but because the body-only warrants were approved for Wisconsin and the surrounding states, Virginia’s law enforcement could not act on them, according to Lenzner. He noted there had been talk that Retzlaff was allegedly in Florida, as well.

Lenzner noted that it was good she was out of her vehicle at the time, as it made the arrest less hazardous to deputies.

“We didn’t want to create a hazard for the public,” he said. “It worked out good.”

Retzlaff was set to appear before Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Michael Moran at 1:45 p.m. April 21 in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court regarding the return on the warrants. Judge William Kussel Jr. had been presiding over Retzlaff’s case but had recused himself when Retzlaff filed documents saying she was filing a “common law” lawsuit against Kussel, District Attorney Greg Parker and Shawano County Corporation Counsel Larenda Maulson.

The body-only warrant was issued for the owner of Annie’s Campground on Nov. 23 after she skipped court. It was the second time Kussel had issued a bench warrant for Retzlaff — the first time took place Oct. 26, with Retzlaff being arrested the next day and immediately posting a $4,500 bond, which was officially forfeited when she did not appear at a bond forfeiture hearing Jan. 19.

Retzlaff is facing felony charges in Shawano County for fleeing and eluding officers and two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, as well as a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer. She also faces misdemeanor charges through Menominee County for resisting and failing to stop.

On May 15, a Shawano County deputy heard on Menominee County radio traffic about a high-speed chase involving a vehicle registered to Retzlaff for failing to stop at a traffic light, according to the criminal complaint. The chase, starting in Keshena on state Highway 47-55, continued through the towns of Wescott and Richmond, where deputies twice laid out spike strips, and ended on state Highway 29 just west of County Road MMM.

Deputies with Shawano and Menominee counties initiated a “high-risk stop,” according to the complaint, and shut down traffic on the highway’s westbound lanes. A lieutenant advised Retzlaff to get out of the vehicle, but she allegedly said she was a “sovereign citizen” and would not exit. A deputy used a slim jim to open the passenger door, which is when Retzlaff allegedly tried to drive off, nearly hitting two Shawano County officials.

Eventually, the vehicle was stopped again, and deputies pulled Retzlaff out of her vehicle. According to the complaint, as she was being handcuffed and searched, she claimed the deputies were involved with covering up sex trafficking and said she was rescuing one of her employees from a sex trafficking house on “Crow Territory” in Menominee County.

Since then, Retzlaff has delayed court proceedings by first stating on two occasions that she had not found an attorney who was constitutionally sound, and Kussel agreed to give her additional time to do so, outside the usual 10-day period as Retzlaff claimed she was in the busy season for her business.

Then Retzlaff did not appear on Oct. 5, claiming she was ill, and Kussel granted a continuance but stipulated that she must appear in person on Oct. 26. When she did not do so, Kussel declared her previous bonds forfeited and issued a bench warrant. Retzlaff paid the bonds for the new warrant but then missed court again on Nov. 23, claiming she felt she wasn’t safe in the courtroom due to COVID-19.

Retzlaff has had other cases in Shawano County. In April, she had restraining orders against her for harassing Shawano County Supervisor Joe Miller and his wife, Jackie Miller. In November 2020, a guilty verdict due to a no contest plea was entered against Retzlaff for a case where she made a phone call and claimed she was a sheriff’s deputy.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com