Racine Sheriff Calls for Removal of Supervisor Who Posted Bail for Accused Gun Thief

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling called for the removal of a supervisor over posting bail for an alleged gun thief who is accused of stealing three sheriff’s SWAT team guns.

Schmaling said, “[Adrian] Jefferson is a dangerous criminal with access to high-powered weapons and a large amount of ammunition.”

He sent out a four-page press release where he detailed his concerns. He said that Racine County Board Supervisor Nick Demske was placing the public in “grave danger” for posting the bail for Jefferson, the man who was accused of stealing the firearms. According to the press release, “Jefferson refused to tell the authorities where the dangerous weapons and ammunition were located. These stolen items have still not been located.”

Schmaling said, “Supervisor Demske paid for the release of a dangerous individual, who still may have access to military-grade weapons and ammunition, back out into our community. Supervisor Demske has a consistent and extended history of voting against public safety proposals if the proposals are related to law enforcement. Supervisor Demske makes our community less safe, and he should be removed immediately.”

“Supervisor Demske paid for the release of a dangerous individual, who still may have access to military grade weapons and ammunition, back into our community,” the release said, “Supervisor Demske makes our community less safe, and he should be removed immediately.”

According to WISN 12 News, Demske posted a $10,000 bail for Jefferson on behalf of the Joshua Glover Justice Fund and called Schmaling’s press release a “political stunt.” The Joshua Glover Justice Fund was established fairly recently to make sure that “poverty isn’t the reason for incarceration.”

Demske told WISN 12 News, “One, it’s not my money. It’s the community’s money, right, the Racine community. We have raised funds from all sorts of members of the Racine community, who want us to use these funds in this way. So, it’s a group effort in that way. But the decisions, case by case itself, is also a significantly large group decision. I could never, you know, I don’t have the authority to make this decision unilaterally.”

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Hayley Feland is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nick Demske” by The Refinery Photo Studio. 

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