Third suspect charged in armed burglary

The Waupaca County district attorney's office has filed multiple felony charges against the third man allegedly involved in the April 2006 armed robbery at a home in Dayton.

Daniel J. Frausto, 36, faces charges of armed robbery, armed burglary, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment.

On the evening of Sunday, April 30, 2006, Thomas Halverson drove into the garage attached to his home near the intersection of West Stratton Lake Road and State Highway 22.

As he closed the overhead door, two intruders came into the garage through a side service door. They ordered Halverson to lie face down on the floor.

Halverson's wife, Helen, heard noise in the garage and went to investigate. As she entered the garage, she saw one of the men ordering Tom Halverson to get on the floor. The second man, whom she had not seen, approached her holding a knife. He pushed her to the floor.

When he saw his wife threatened, Tom Halverson, who was then 60 years old, stood up and began fighting with the men. He punched one of them in the face several times before they overpowered him. During the struggle, Halverson's hand was cut by the knife.

The two men then forced the Halversons into the foyer of the house. They bound their hands and feet together with black electrical tape.

One of the assailants demanded that the Halversons open their safe and began kicking Tom Halverson in the head and side.

Helen Halverson told the men that the combination to the safe was written on a piece of paper in her purse. One of the men pulled her purse off the table, turned it upside down and dumped the contents on the floor. He found the piece of paper with the combination, opened the safe, but did not find any money.

According to the criminal complaint, the men became quite agitated when they did not find any money in the safe and demanded that the Halversons give them some cash.

The Halversons told the two men repeatedly that they were retired and did not have much cash in their home other than a change jar and what was in the purse and a wallet.

Police say the men left after stealing less than $200 from the Halversons.

Also charged in this incident are Ben M. Trauger, 28, Appleton, and Joshua B. Detterbeck, 30, of Addison, Ill.,

Investigators believe Trauger drove Frausto and Detterbeck to the Halversons' home and waited for them in the car.

Trauger told police that the incident was "a bust" and did not go as planned, the complaint says.

Trauger reportedly told detectives that Frausto usually carried a knife with him.

The Halversons told investigators that the shorter of the two men was the one with the knife, according to court records, Frausto is about four inches shorter than Detterbeck.

Frausto is currently in state prison because his extended supervision from a 2007 felony conviction in Outagamie County was revoked in June 2012.

A former Waupaca resident, Frausto's prior convictions include theft in Waupaca County, burglary in Brown County and theft and false imprisonment in Outagamie County

Although no other criminal charges have been filed against Frausto so far this year, five counties, including Waupaca, have filed civil cases to seize his assets.

A special prosecutor, Winnebago County Assistant District Attorney Eric Sparr, has been appointed to handle all of the civil suits the counties have filed against Frausto.

The Waupaca County Sheriff's Department will not comment on an ongoing, multi-jurisdictional criminal investigation involving Frausto.