Five charged in rural Waunakee party incident

Five charged in rural Waunakee party incident
Ed Treleven 608-252-6134 etreleven@madison.com

When police showed up at a rural Waunakee farm to break up a teenage drinking party, three young men used threats to keep party-goers inside a shed at the farm while one of the adult hosts wouldn 't help them leave, party-goers told police.

"I don 't want to let the cops in or you guys out, " party host Jacklyn Kaltenberg, 44, said at one point during the five hours that anywhere from 50 to 70 party-goers were barricaded inside the shed, a witness told police according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court.

Kaltenberg, who is an elementary school teacher 's aide, was charged with obstructing police and was ticketed for selling alcohol to an underage person during the Sept. 30 party. Her husband, Daniel Kaltenberg, 44, was also charged with obstructing police.

Three others -- Zachary P. Hadfield, 17, and Randy J. Lamb, 18, both of rural Waunakee, and Kyle J. Ripp, 19, of rural Dane -- were charged with disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon for allegedly handling a rifle and brandishing such tools as an axe and a sledgehammer to prevent party-goers from leaving the shed.

A witness said one of men told people in the shed that he would attack Dane County Sheriff 's deputies if they tried to get into the shed.

The five who were charged were ordered to appear in court on Nov. 26. Two others who attended the party were cited for underage drinking and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Waunakee School Superintendent Chuck Pursell said the district has not completed its investigation. He said in speaking to people involved, the district has received "cooperation, non-cooperation and blatant use of the legal system " to avoid answering questions.

He said the district still has "a few more interviews to conduct " and is awaiting reports from the Dane County Sheriff 's Office. He said three students have been disciplined. Jacklyn Kaltenberg is serving an unpaid suspension from her job, Pursell said.

In the complaint, one witness said "the majority of the Waunakee High School football team " was at the party, while another said party-goers did not want to "get the Waunakee football team in trouble. " Hadfield was listed on the team roster as a running back and linebacker.

Pursell said no football players were disciplined during the team 's WIAA Division 2 playoff drive, which ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to DeForest on Nov. 3, because the district 's investigation had not yet determined that any football players had been at the party.

"We can 't do something based on hearsay and rumor, " Pursell said.

According to the criminal complaint:

Shortly after midnight on Sept. 30, deputies were sent to the Kaltenberg farm at 5439 Easy St., in the town of Westport. Lights were on in the house but nobody could be seen inside.

Using flashlights to look through a window in the shed, deputies saw about 40 people on the floor and others hiding behind objects in the shed.

Two tables with beer and a bottle of vodka could be seen. Deputies repeatedly yelled to identify themselves and announced over a loudspeaker the names of parents who would be called, but nobody answered or came out of the shed. After being at the scene for about four hours, all but two deputies left.

In the meantime, some parents arrived at the farm and banged on doors and windows to get their children to come out of the shed, but none did. Some of the parents tried, without success, to pry open a garage door at the rear of the shed.

The next day, Daniel and Jacklyn Kaltenberg told police they were in Milwaukee at a wedding at the time of the party.

But some who attended the party said Jacklyn Kaltenberg was there, mingling with the teenage drinkers. When police arrived, one witness said, the lights in the shed were turned off and Ripp and others grabbed and brandished the tools. One teen said he thought he would have been attacked if he tried to leave.

Exits were also blocked with tires and other items, witnesses said, and Jacklyn Kaltenberg told people in the shed to "quiet down " and not leave.

One party-goer told police he did not leave when his parents arrived "because nobody would let us. "

Ripp told police in October that he went to the Kaltenberg farm that night to borrow a tool, found the party and amused himself by banging a hammer and a sledgehammer.

He said after police arrived he was only "giving people their options " and never heard anyone say they should not leave the shed.

Lamb admitted to police that he was at the party and said he may have paced around with a sledgehammer, but he could not recall if he did.

Hadfield denied being at the party.

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Five charged in rural Waunakee party incident
Ed Treleven 608-252-6134 etreleven@madison.com

When police showed up at a rural Waunakee farm to break up a teenage drinking party, three young men used threats to keep party-goers inside a shed at the farm while one of the adult hosts wouldn 't help them leave, party-goers told police.

"I don 't want to let the cops in or you guys out, " party host Jacklyn Kaltenberg, 44, said at one point during the five hours that anywhere from 50 to 70 party-goers were barricaded inside the shed, a witness told police according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court.

Kaltenberg, who is an elementary school teacher 's aide, was charged with obstructing police and was ticketed for selling alcohol to an underage person during the Sept. 30 party. Her husband, Daniel Kaltenberg, 44, was also charged with obstructing police.

Three others -- Zachary P. Hadfield, 17, and Randy J. Lamb, 18, both of rural Waunakee, and Kyle J. Ripp, 19, of rural Dane -- were charged with disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon for allegedly handling a rifle and brandishing such tools as an axe and a sledgehammer to prevent party-goers from leaving the shed.

A witness said one of men told people in the shed that he would attack Dane County Sheriff 's deputies if they tried to get into the shed.

The five who were charged were ordered to appear in court on Nov. 26. Two others who attended the party were cited for underage drinking and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Waunakee School Superintendent Chuck Pursell said the district has not completed its investigation. He said in speaking to people involved, the district has received "cooperation, non-cooperation and blatant use of the legal system " to avoid answering questions.

He said the district still has "a few more interviews to conduct " and is awaiting reports from the Dane County Sheriff 's Office. He said three students have been disciplined. Jacklyn Kaltenberg is serving an unpaid suspension from her job, Pursell said.

In the complaint, one witness said "the majority of the Waunakee High School football team " was at the party, while another said party-goers did not want to "get the Waunakee football team in trouble. " Hadfield was listed on the team roster as a running back and linebacker.

Pursell said no football players were disciplined during the team 's WIAA Division 2 playoff drive, which ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to DeForest on Nov. 3, because the district 's investigation had not yet determined that any football players had been at the party.

"We can 't do something based on hearsay and rumor, " Pursell said.

According to the criminal complaint:

Shortly after midnight on Sept. 30, deputies were sent to the Kaltenberg farm at 5439 Easy St., in the town of Westport. Lights were on in the house but nobody could be seen inside.

Using flashlights to look through a window in the shed, deputies saw about 40 people on the floor and others hiding behind objects in the shed.

Two tables with beer and a bottle of vodka could be seen. Deputies repeatedly yelled to identify themselves and announced over a loudspeaker the names of parents who would be called, but nobody answered or came out of the shed. After being at the scene for about four hours, all but two deputies left.

In the meantime, some parents arrived at the farm and banged on doors and windows to get their children to come out of the shed, but none did. Some of the parents tried, without success, to pry open a garage door at the rear of the shed.

The next day, Daniel and Jacklyn Kaltenberg told police they were in Milwaukee at a wedding at the time of the party.

But some who attended the party said Jacklyn Kaltenberg was there, mingling with the teenage drinkers. When police arrived, one witness said, the lights in the shed were turned off and Ripp and others grabbed and brandished the tools. One teen said he thought he would have been attacked if he tried to leave.

Exits were also blocked with tires and other items, witnesses said, and Jacklyn Kaltenberg told people in the shed to "quiet down " and not leave.

One party-goer told police he did not leave when his parents arrived "because nobody would let us. "

Ripp told police in October that he went to the Kaltenberg farm that night to borrow a tool, found the party and amused himself by banging a hammer and a sledgehammer.

He said after police arrived he was only "giving people their options " and never heard anyone say they should not leave the shed.

Lamb admitted to police that he was at the party and said he may have paced around with a sledgehammer, but he could not recall if he did.

Hadfield denied being at the party.

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You know any of those folks?

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That would be quite a coincidence! In a state of 5.5 x 10^6 people to be acquainted, at first blush, with a particular one is ~2 x 10^-7. Further, it is farther away than a day trip (Green Bay takes an overnighter) and philosophically too close to Madistan.

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