A 56-year-old career criminal is accused of zip tying and shooting dead the retired judge who sentenced him on armed burglary charges back in 2005.
Douglas K. Uhde, who was described as a loner and a big Donald Trump fan, is still in hospital after shooting himself following the murder of former Juneau County Judge John Roemer, 68, in his own Wisconsin home.
Uhde, who has a criminal record dating back at least two decades and once even broke out of jail and went on run for a month before he was caught, was previously sentenced by Roemer to six years in prison and nine years of extended supervision for armed burglary charges.
A year after he was sentenced, in March 2006, Uhde escaped from the minimum security Fox Lake Correctional Institute in Wisconsin.
According to court documents, Uhde was finally caught a month later while he was en route to give his girlfriend ‘a flower.’
Following his re-arrest, Uhde was held at the maximum security Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. The same prison where serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was beaten to death by inmates in 1994.
Despite his prison escape, Uhde was released just two years into his six year sentence after he filed an appeal from jail, arguing that his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated at the time of his original arrest.
This March 17, 2020, photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections shows Douglas K. Uhde, who is suspected in the shooting death of retired Juneau, Wis., County Judge John Roemer
Former Juneau County Judge John Roemer, 68, was found zip-tied and shot dead in his home
Yet, he was arrested shortly after his release, in March 2007, for driving a vehicle without consent, eluding an officer and obstruction. He served 18 months in prison on those charges.
Uhde last spent time in prison between March 2019 and April 2020 when he was taken into custody on a parole violation. He also spent time in prison for a parole violation in 2015.
Uhde’s nephew, who declined to be named, told Heavy.com that the suspect was a supporter of Donald Trump and an ‘obvious Republican.’
A Facebook page purported to belong to Uhde features a picture of Hillary Clinton with duct tape over her mouth with the statement ‘tape this lying b*tch’s mouth shut’, as well as many pro Trump posts.
He described him as a loner, without a wife or kids, who had never had a long term relationship.
When asked about his uncle being suspected in the murder of Roemer, he said: ‘People are pushed to the extremes. Anyone educated on it, understands it.’
‘Any red-blooded American’ understands ‘we have a failed system.’
He denied report however, that Uhde was connected to a militia.
A SWAT team was seen at the judge’s house. Authorities arrived on scene around 6.30am and were unable to breach the home until 10.15am as the shooter was inside the home
A large police presence and a SWAT team were on scene on Friday. When they got inside, they found the shooter in the basement with a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooter was taken to a medical facility in critical condition
The suspect pictured on his Facebook page in April 2020, shortly after his release prison
The suspect’s address was in Friendship, Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections website which listed him as ‘Active community supervision.’
Friendship is around 30 miles east of Roemer’s home in New Lisbon.
Uhde’s prison escape in 2006 wasn’t the first time that he broke out of prison.
In 1994, Uhde, then 28, climbed over an and 8-foot tall razor wire fence in Bastrop County jail, Texas. At the time, Uhde was in custody on a parole violation.
According to Heavy.com, Uhde had previously been arrested in the Lone Star State on forgery charges.
A family friend named Joshua told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that, despite Uhde’s criminal record, he was shocked he would allegedly kill a judge.
‘I’m still kind of expecting someone to say it wasn’t him,’ he said.
Joshua said that the last time her heard from Uhde, the suspect was moving to start his life over in either Kentucky or Tennessee. Prior to that he had been living with Joshua’s family following his 2020 release from prison.
Joshua went on to say that he did not know Uhde to be part of a militia nor to have any animosity toward public officials. He said: ‘The fact that I’m being told that he did this is gut-wrenching.’
Law enforcement always believed Roemer’s murder was ‘targeted’.
It now appears it was tied closely to the sentencing of Uhde’s 2001 burglary.
In 2002, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and seven years supervision by Judge James Miller. That was in addition to being forced to undergo psychiatric treatment.
However, Uhde won an appeal in the case over court procedures as the suspect alleged that he didn’t understand the ramifications of pleading not guilty in the case.
The case was reopened with Roemer at the helm in February 2005. Uhde was sentenced to six years in prison and nine years of extended supervision in April 2005. Uhde pleaded guilty to the charges.
Mitch McConnell and Gretchen Whitmer were reportedly on a shooter’s hit list, that was found inside his car at the scene of the shooting. The shooter killed a former Juneau County judge in his home on Friday morning
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers was also reportedly on the hit list
Around 6:30 a.m. on June 3, Juneau County Sheriff’s officers responded to Judge John Roemer’s home in New Lisbon after receiving a call about an armed person at the residence.
Officers stormed the judge’s house around 10.15am on Friday where they found Uhde in a critical condition after shooting himself and Roemer zip-tied to a chair and dead.
Inside the suspect’s car, investigators found a hit list that included names such as Senator Mitch McConnell, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
‘This does appear to be a targeted act,’ Attorney General Josh Kaul said. The AG also said the politicians have been notified of the hit list.
‘Those who may have been other targets have been notified of that, but we are not aware of any active threat to individuals,’ he said at a press conference.
‘At this point, we are not aware of any evidence indicating that there is any active danger to other individuals.
‘If we become aware of any specific ongoing threat, we will certainly notify people when we are aware of that.’
Roemer is seen in court, before his 2017 retirement. On Friday he was murdered by a 56-year-old man
The case is being handled as a homicide and a domestic terrorist case and authorities are looking into court records.
Law enforcement believes the shooter’s outrage has to deal with a court case. Donna Voss, who lives next door, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel she was shocked.
‘One of my neighbors called and said what’s going on, what’s going on. It was really surprising something like this would happen around here. I still can’t comprehend it.’
She said she heard police telling the person inside: ‘Come out with your hands up.’ Voss added of Roemer: ‘He was such a nice guy. Church goer. It’s terrible.’
Jackie, a former teacher who lives nearby, said she knew Roemer through two of his children, who were students of hers.
‘He walks his dogs all the time,’ she said. ‘He’s friendly, a nice enough guy.’
Roemer served as a Juneau County judge from 2004 until 2017. He had previously spent 12 years as assistant district attorney, and had worked as an assistant state public defender in Baraboo, Wisconsin.