Slain Judge John Roemer Sentenced His Alleged Killer to Prison Years Ago, Records Show
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The man accused of gunning down former Wisconsin judge John Roemer on Friday in a “targeted” attack on the judicial system was sentenced to prison time more than a decade ago by his alleged victim, court records show.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice on Saturday identified the alleged gunman as 56-year-old Douglas K. Uhde, who they said remains in critical condition after he was found in the basement of Roemer’s home with an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Law enforcement officials confirmed to The Daily Beast that Roemer, 68, was found zip-tied to a chair and fatally shot at his home in New Lisbon, Wisconsin around 10:17 a.m. on Friday.
Court records show that Uhde wound up in Roemer’s courtroom in 2005, when he was found guilty of armed burglary and sentenced to six years in prison. It was not clear if the two had crossed paths since then.
Douglas K Uhde
Authorities investigating Roemer’s murder have said the suspect had other potential targets lined up, with police finding a hit list that included Roemer as well as a handful of other influential government officials like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.
Former Judge Gunned Down in Wisconsin by Man With ‘Hit List’
The investigation underway is being handled as a homicide as well as a potential domestic terrorism case.
“This does appear to be a targeted act, and the individual who’s a suspect appears to have had other targets as well, it appears to be related to the judicial system,” Attorney General Josh Kaul told reporters on Friday afternoon.
Kaul said that all people named on the hit list have been informed.
Retired Judge John Roemer.
Donna Voss, one of the late Roemer’s next door neighbors, woke up Friday morning to police cars camped outside of their houses.
“My husband and I, we were going to go down the street to our garage sale,” Voss told local Madison reporters. “Next thing I know I got a call from Juneau County Police saying we need to stay in the house, lock all the doors.”
Though Voss doesn’t remember speaking to Roemer all that often, she does say he was “a really nice guy.” The neighbors would stop to chat as the judge “mowed his yard or walked his dogs.”
“We’d stop and talk and that was about it,” she said, mourning the judge.
Tragically, Roemer’s wife and one of his sons also recently passed away. His other two sons lived with him in Wisconsin, Voss told reporters. One of his sons might have been a witness to the fatal shooting, ABC reports.
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