Judge reduces Retzlaff’s cash bond to $15K

Ann Retzlaff still claims her bond is too high after it was reduced from $25,000 to $15,000 on May 19, even as she filed federal lawsuits against the deputies involved in her arrest last year.

Retzlaff was able to garner some sympathy from Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Mark Moran after claiming she was the only caregiver for her father, who is “direly ill” with ALS. But Moran flatly denied her request to make the cash bond a signature bond as he noted her callous disregard for the court system and her history of skipping court appearances.

“I do that because I’m considering your situation,” Moran said. “I still have grave concerns about you appearing in court.”

Retzlaff said she could not afford to pay the $15,000 cash bond, noting she has already paid $7,500, which was forfeited when she missed two court appearances in October and November 2021. She claimed she would not be a flight risk due to her business, Annie’s Campground, being in operation for the summer, and she said she has lived in the area for 12 years.

“I have asked for mercy,” Retzlaff said. “The court is supposed to have mercy, truth and justice to we, the people. I have not seen that.”

District Attorney Greg Parker was opposed to any reduction in bond, noting that she has past bond forfeitures. He noted that the crimes she’s facing carry a sentence of 24 years and more than $70,000 in fines.

“Under those circumstances, I think the bail bond reduction should be denied,” Parker said.

Retzlaff is facing felony charges in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court dating back to May 2021 of 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. Bail jumping and disorderly conduct charges were added in April after she missed two court appearances in late 2021, and deputies arrested her in Wittenberg.

Retzlaff did not have counsel once again and said that, for the time being, she would represent herself in the local case. She has an attorney involved with her federal lawsuits. She claimed her efforts to find an attorney in Wisconsin have been hampered by the kiosk in her cell block at the jail acting up for three days.

“It’s difficult to make any calls out,” Retzlaff said.

Moran offered Retzlaff the option to represent herself, noting that the case has been in the system for a year already, and she has not even reached the stage of a preliminary hearing due to the delays while she claims she’s been seeking an attorney.

“I don’t want this to go on forever, so you may have to represent yourself,” Moran said.

After several minutes of arguing that she should be provided legal assistance, Retzlaff agreed to managing her own defense.

Retzlaff also claimed at the hearing that she has been on a hunger strike since she had been jailed in late April.

“I have not taken any food,” she said.

Retzlaff filed two suits in federal court May 16 against Lt. Kurt Kitzman with the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department and Deputy Justin Hoffman with the Menominee County Sheriff’s Department. She is claiming a number of civil rights violations, including conspiracy for cover-up of human trafficking, kidnapping, police brutality, assault with a deadly weapon and violation of her Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

“My freedom of speech has been impaired,” Retzlaff said at the May 19 hearing. “My freedom of travel has been impaired.”

Retzlaff claims that, on May 15, 2021, the day of the chase through Shawano and Menominee counties, she had received a call from one of her employees, asking her to pick up the employee at a house in Menominee County. The employee claimed she was being trafficked, Retzlaff said. The suit further claims Retzlaff “got too close to the trafficked house” and was stopped by Hoffman.

There has been no response to the two suits so far.

Retzlaff claims her circuit court case should have been dropped due a lawsuit filed in federal court against Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judge William Kussel Jr., who has recused himself from the case, along with District Attorney Greg Parker and Corporation Counsel Larenda Maulson.

“I don’t know how those charges can stand,” Retzlaff said. “I was in constant contact with law enforcement.”

The criminal complaint in the circuit court shows that 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.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com