A Wittenberg woman accused of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and disorderly conduct could be accepting a plea deal in April for an incident involving a gun and children.
At a Feb. 6 hearing, defense attorney Joseph Kaupie revealed he and Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney Greg Parker have agreed to a plea deal in concept for Mindy S. Leeder, but there are still some details to be worked out.
A new plea and sentencing hearing was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. April 7 in Branch II of the Shawano County Courthouse.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies were dispatched May 9, 2023, to 401 S. Mill St. in Wittenberg for a report of a weapons offense. The caller claimed a woman, later determined to be Leeder, was at Pond Park and pointing a firearm at multiple children. When arriving on scene, a deputy was shown a video of Leeder as she allegedly pulled a gun from her waistband and pointed it at one of the children, who was recording the video.
The deputies were informed of the house that Leeder entered, at 301 E. Front St. When police officers pulled up to the residence, Leeder walked out of the house with her hands in the air, complying with law enforcement officials’ orders. The firearm that Leeder had allegedly pointed at the children was found inside the residence.
The children who were at the park at the time told law enforcement that Leeder came to the park to yell at them, because they were allegedly bullying her children. The children said that they were not bullying. They stated that Leeder was pointing the gun at them and waving it around in the air.
The children reportedly told Leeder that they were going to call the police. From there, the criminal complaint states that Leeder put the gun in her pocket and went to the Front Street residence, where law enforcement arrested her.
In an interview with Leeder, deputies claim she stated that she could hear her daughter yelling when the daughter was at Pond Park. Upon hearing the yelling, Leeder stated that she wanted to walk over to the park to see what was going on. She also stated that it is common for her to take a concealed firearm with her when leaving the residence, as she has a valid concealed carry permit. She claimed the firearm was loaded.
Leeder told deputies that when she was leaving her residence, her daughter came home and reported the bullying, but did not specify what the bullying was, according to the criminal complaint. Leeder told law enforcement that her children have experienced bullying at Pond Park in the past.
When addressing the group of children at Pond Park, Leeder said that the children became argumentative and began to form a semi-circle around her, according to the complaint. She allegedly told the children that she had a firearm and, when asked if it was real, she allegedly pulled the gun out of her pocket.
Leeder reportedly pointed the gun in the air without putting her finger on the trigger, according to the complaint, saying that she did not point the gun at any of the children and was being situationally aware of her surroundings. She said that the children got scared and that she put the gun back into her pocket after holding it in the air.
When questioned by law enforcement whether presenting the firearm was necessary, Leeder reportedly said: “It probably wasn’t; I was probably just nervous and scared. I don’t like confrontation, to be honest.”
The court is expected to approve a request from Leeder for she and her family to attend a Civil War reenactment in Mississippi from March 6-18. Leeder has attended the reenactment in previous years and has always returned to the state to attend court hearings.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
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