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Three felonies alleged in under 24 hours

Former Milwaukee man arrested after break-in

Demerray J. Gilliam, 33, Waupaca, was charged Thursday with attempted strangulation, criminal trespassing, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and felony bail jumping.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, June 24, a 911 caller reported a burglary in progress on County Trunk A, in the town of Lind.

Waupaca County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Lewis and Deputy Pat Gorchals responded.

While officers were en route, the caller further informed the dispatcher that a green minivan was parked in the front yard, garbage was strewn everywhere and a black man and two white women were carrying items out of the house.

The caller said the intruders had left, then said the black man had returned and was pounding on the door to get back into the house.

As Lewis arrived at the scene, he saw a green minivan parked on the shoulder of County Trunk A, immediately south of the house.

He then saw a man he recognized as Gilliam running from the back of the house toward the van.

According to the criminal complaint, Lewis ordered Gilliam to stop and drew his weapon when Gilliam initially failed to comply.

Lewis handcuffed Gilliam and placed him in the back of his squad car. He told the two women to remain in the van.

Lewis reported smelling alcohol on Gilliam.

The 911 caller told Lewis she had been driving to her parents’ home when she noticed the minivan parked in front of their rental home.

When she pulled into the driveway, she noticed two windows were open. They had been closed the day before.

She also saw people inside the house.

She exited her vehicle and yelled, “Who’s in there? You need to leave. You are trespassing.”

The woman called her father and 911.

Gilliam exited the house with a gallon jug of vodka and two beers. He and the two women began yelling at the woman, the complaint says. They left in the van.

The woman grabbed her 4-year-old son and ran into the house, locking all the windows and doors.

There was debris littered throughout the house, and the place reeked of booze and tobacco.

At this point, Gilliam allegedly returned and began pounding and kicking the front door, demanding that the woman let him back into the house because he left his cellphone there.

The woman’s father arrived and went around the house to enter through the back door. But when the woman opened the door, Gilliam tried to force his way into the house, the complaint says.

When the father pushed Gilliam away from the door, Gilliam allegedly grabbed him and wrapped his arm around the father’s neck, trying to choke him. The father broke free.

Gilliam then ran away, saying he was going to get more people.

Before he returned to the van, Gilliam encountered Sgt. Lewis.

The night before his arrest in Lind, Gilliam was accused of throwing a beer bottle at a windshield in downtown Waupaca.

For that incident, he was charged with criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and felony bail jumping.

Later that same night, Gilliam allegedly punched a man in the face, resulting in battery and felony bail jumping charges.

On May 7, Gilliam was charged with burglary and criminal damage to property. He was released from custody that same day after posting a $1,000 cash bond.

The district attorney’s office filed a motion Wednesday that the cash bond Gilliam posted in May be forfeited.

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