By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Last week’s Whitewater Register report of Walworth County Court activity includes a reference to several Whitewater related gun incidents and several Walworth County gun related charges.
An initial court appearance was set for June 6 for a 39 year-old Whitewater man who is accused as a repeat offender as a felon in possession of a firearm and disorderly conduct after police responded to a July 2021 early morning report of a man “threatening to shoot up” a popular downtown tavern according to the Register report. The report also included a June 9 scheduled initial appearance for another Whitewater man allegedly found with guns and a knife during a traffic stop.
A July initial appearance was also set for a 38 year-old Lake Geneva man who reportedly pointed a gun at his estranged wife and threatened to kill her if the incident was reported to police. A fourth Delavan man was reportedly found in possession of a gun after overdosing. He reportedly was under bond conditions on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer.
Those incidents follow reports that multiple guns were recovered by police during the recent unofficial “Spring Splash” event. According to Deputy Police Chief Dan Meyer, there were approximately 50 citations issued this year versus previous years when over 100 were issued. He acknowledged, however, that, “We did recover multiple semi-automatic handguns, one of which was paired with a high-capacity drum-style magazine that holds approximately 50 rounds.”
This news comes as the nation mourns the death of 19 grade school children and two schoolteachers in Uvalde, Texas. ABC news reports a total of seventeen “mass shootings” around the country in the period between May 24 and May 31. A “mass shooting” is generally defined as an incident where four or more people are shot (injured or killed.)
