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Hours after being questioned and released by police, a 23-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly carrying two guns — one of them loaded — near a Sheboygan Falls school, officials said today.
Matt Hubing, of 85 Wisconsin St. in Sheboygan Falls, was booked into jail about 7:30 p.m. Monday and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Wednesday, jail officials said. Sheboygan Falls police plan to send a report to the District Attorney’s Office late today or early Wednesday recommending a felony charge of possession of a firearm in a school zone, said Police Chief Steve Riffel.
“It came to light to us that he was in violation of the 1,000 feet of a school with a loaded weapon, and we have very big concerns about that,” Riffel said. “After warning him the previous week and (knowing) he’s keenly aware of the law, that’s why we proceeded with (seeking charges).”
Hubing was wearing camouflage clothing when he rode his bicycle carrying an assault-style rifle and handgun on Monday, he said in an interview prior to his arrest. Police stopped him after being contacted by several concerned citizens, but he was released after officers confirmed he could legally have the guns and was not within 1,000 feet of a school, said Riffel.
But police learned later in the evening the addresses Hubing was biking to and from were both within school zones, Riffel said. Hubing came to the police department on his own and was arrested there.
Hubing was stopped Monday while biking on Fond du Lac Avenue and last week while walking through downtown, Riffel has said. Both times he had a loaded .40-caliber handgun in a holster and an unloaded .22-caliber assault-style rifle — similar to an M-16 — slung over his shoulder.
Hubing said early Monday afternoon he was taking the guns to show a friend last week, and Monday he was going to a friend’s house outside the city limits for target shooting. He said he was openly carrying the guns because his truck was out of commission and it’s awkward to carry the rifle’s case.
He said he was aware of the school zone law and believed what he was doing was “perfectly legal.”
State law, as clarified in an opinion by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen last April, allows open carry of firearms, but other laws prohibit carrying guns in or around locations such as schools, bars and public buildings.
Online court records show Hubing has two disorderly conduct convictions, one of which is a 2007 case that was amended from a charge of intentionally pointing a firearm at a person. He also has a deferred conviction agreement pending on misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting or obstructing an officer.