Black River Falls Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Possessing Stolen Handgun

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that James Newman, 30, Black River Falls, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to the statutory maximum term of 10 years in prison for unlawfully possessing a stolen shotgun as a convicted felon. Newman pleaded guilty to this charge on June 26, 2013.

On July 18, 2012, Newman and co-defendant James Misleveck escaped from the Black River Correctional Camp in Jackson County. They stole a shotgun and then kidnapped a woman at gunpoint. After making the woman drive around with them for several hours, they released her, abandoned the shotgun, and stole another vehicle. They subsequently fled to Florida and committed additional crimes during their spree.

On April 10, 2013, Misleveck received a mandatory minimum 15-year federal prison sentence. Misleveck was sentenced as an armed career criminal, because he has three prior violent felony convictions, specifically two burglary convictions and an arson conviction.

The charge against Newman is the result of an extensive investigation conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department; Tomah Police Department; Sparta Police Department; Monroe County Sheriff’s Department; Wisconsin State Patrol; Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Broward County (Florida) Sheriff’s Department. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita M. Rumbelow.