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Wis women has charges dropped

Firearms Iinstuctor

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For the second time, an Oconomowoc woman has charges dropped after she left her loaded handgun in a Brookfield church last year.

Susan Hitchler, 67, left her hand gun in a Elmbrook Church in March when she forgot the weapon in woman's restroom.

She was first charged negligently handing a weapon the DC both where found with out merit.


Being forgetful is not a element of either one of these crimes.
 

1245A Defender

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Really????

For the second time, an Oconomowoc woman has charges dropped after she left her loaded handgun in a Brookfield church last year.

Susan Hitchler, 67, left her hand gun in a Elmbrook Church in March when she forgot the weapon in woman's restroom.

She was first charged negligently handing a weapon the DC both where found with out merit.


Being forgetful is not a element of either one of these crimes.

Did she Forget her gun in a church TWICE????
 

1245A Defender

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Well,,,

For the second time, an Oconomowoc woman has charges dropped after she left her loaded handgun in a Brookfield church last year.

Susan Hitchler, 67, left her hand gun in a Elmbrook Church in March when she forgot the weapon in woman's restroom.

She was first charged negligently handing a weapon the DC both where found with out merit.


Being forgetful is not a element of either one of these crimes.

Did she Forget her gun in a church TWICE????

It seems that the state just did not want to let this issue go. They really wanted to toss this hardened criminal into the pokey.

It seems, from the bolded, that she did it 2 times,,, rather than being charged 2 times for just one, crime!
 

OC for ME

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For the second time, an Oconomowoc woman has charges dropped after she left her loaded handgun in a Brookfield church last year.

Susan Hitchler, 67, left her hand gun in a Elmbrook Church in March when she forgot the weapon in woman's restroom.

She was first charged negligently handing a weapon the DC both where found with out merit.

Being forgetful is not a element of either one of these crimes.

It seems, from the bolded, that she did it 2 times,,, rather than being charged 2 times for just one, crime!
No, why don't you do a wee bit of research before you parse a member's post...incorrectly.
An initial charge of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon was dropped against Hitchler in June 2014 — but a criminal complaint filed on November 24th charged her with disorderly conduct.

http://fox6now.com/2015/03/31/case-...sed-of-leaving-loaded-gun-in-church-restroom/
Never mind.
 

Wstar425

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It's easy to read as two separate incidents. Elmbrook Church is in Brookfield, Wi. But it reads like two separate churches. I've been there for a No Regrets conference, probably holds 800 people in the auditorium. I bet they have 20 bathrooms in that place, none of which excuses the leaving of a firearm in a stall.

That's why everyone should carry the Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag 10.5" 5 pound special, so you realize you are missing something! ��

Probably need to change up her routine a little some how. Woman who found gun had poor muzzle control, I'd bet she had her finger on the trigger as she was walking it to the front desk as well.
 
Last edited:

Firearms Iinstuctor

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So are you defending this woman?

Seems to me she Can't Understand Normal Thinking when it comes to carrying a weapon.

Criminal charges may be over the top, but perhaps a municipal citation with a stiff fine might help her memory in the future.

No but forgetting ones firearm in not a element of either crime she was charged with.
 

pkbites

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Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ,
No but forgetting ones firearm in not a element of either crime she was charged with.

I disagree. From my experience with past cases a prosecutor could have gotten a conviction for either. Had a minor gotten hold of it here she could have been charged with that too.

Like it or not, Disorderly Conduct is a cover all charge that is easy to get a conviction for and hard to get out of. I've seen a lot of DC convictions that I myself thought were ridiculous, even violations of free speech. Had the legislature not acted wisely we'd still be putting up with it for OC.
 

Wstar425

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Lots of charges get dropped or reduced for worse things I suppose? Not defending, it was a big mistake for sure. Possibly she agreed to stop carrying, at church, or some other stipulation? Don't know just don't think we probably have the entire story. People make mistakes. Sometimes they're bad.

I got a logbook falsification in Arizona a couple of years ago. It's a felony misdemeanor. Nobody was hurt, just a random DOT pullover 1/2 mile from where I was planning on stopping anyway. I actually parked on the off ramp. Attendance was required, so hired a lawyer and pled it down to a parking ticket. Still cost me about 2 grand, but nothing on my record. I have no record of any sort other than a couple of speeding tickets over 40 years. I appreciated not having that on my record, but I'm sure there is somebody who figured I should have lost my license, gun rights, and freedom.

I'm betting she's a squeaky clean grandmother of 8. Having said all that she needs to do whatever it takes to make SURE it never happens again.
 

HPmatt

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Dallas
Was she OC? Thread s/b locked if not. For bad four(word)play too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

OC for ME

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I disagree. From my experience with past cases a prosecutor could have gotten a conviction for either. Had a minor gotten hold of it here she could have been charged with that too.

...
The prosecutor wanted a conviction, else he/she would not have charged her, again, 5 months after the first charge was dismissed.
 

OC for ME

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The local cops gave her her pistol back and punted to the prosecutor. It sounds to me like a "no harm no foul" approach by the cops. It seems, from the original story, that the cops were not as worked up about this incident as some others appear to be. Cops taking a practical and pragmatic approach to a honest mistake...good on them.
 
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