A suspect wanted in Maryland and Wisconsin is still at large, according to Oconto Falls Police Chief Brad Olsen, who initiated alerts through the county’s emergency system May 8 in an attempt to locate the fugitive.
Approximately 8,000 people in southern and central Oconto County received phone, text or email alerts to be on the lookout for a white man, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds, with short black hair and tattoos on his face, neck and arms. The message, sent about 5:30 p.m., cautioned people not to approach the man, whom Olsen later identified as 24-year-old Justin T. Guarnera.
Guarnera is wanted on charges of felony assault in Maryland and felon in possession of a firearm in Oconto County.
At the May 12 Oconto Falls City Council meeting, Olsen said he received several complaints for issuing the alerts.
“We got some criticism for it, but this was not a nice man running through the woods,” he said.
Emergency Management Director Tim Magnin, who also serves as Oconto Falls fire chief, said he received calls last week from people supportive of the alerts issued through the CodeRED system.
“It’s good that we use it,” he said.
The county pays $27,000 annually for the service and uses about a quarter of its bank of minutes allotted. He said the county sends about a dozen messages each year, including weather alerts.
“Use it,” Magnin said. “It’s there for a reason. We’ve had very good success in the past with it.”
He said people in the community are willing to call in if they know something that might be helpful.
Olsen said the alerts covered a large area because they were issued a couple of hours after the manhunt started, and it was uncertain if Guarnera was still in the area.
Officers from several departments and an Oconto County K-9 unit searched for Guarnera, who was first spotted about 3 p.m. at the intersection of County Road I and Main Street in Oconto Falls. He fled on foot when an Oconto Falls officer made an effort to stop the vehicle in which he was a passenger.
The search was called off when Olsen received tips Guarnera was elsewhere, and a second alert was issued about 8:45 p.m. reporting the man had left the area.
Olsen said he hopes the incident makes people more cautious about locking their homes and vehicles.
“I was fully expecting to get a call later that evening or the next morning that he had stolen a vehicle,” Olsen said.
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