DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Wisconsin

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, December 16, 2015
John W. Vaudreuil
, United States Attorney
Contact: AUSA Assigned to Case

Grand Jury Returns Indictments

MADISON, WIS. -- A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

TWO CHARGED WITH THREATENING COMMUNICATIONS
INTENDED TO EXTORT MONEY

Gregory P. Kolk, 34, Oakdale, Minn., and Cassandra Doerr, 22, Apple Valley, Minn., are charged with transmitting from Minnesota to Wisconsin communications containing a threat to injure a person. The indictment alleges that on November 26, 2015, the defendants threatened to injure or kill an individual and his family, unless the individual paid various sums of money.

Kolk and Doerr were arrested in Osseo, Wis., on December 1. Kolk was charged with this offense in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Madison on December 3. He made an initial appearance in federal court on December 4, and following a detention hearing on December 8, was ordered held in federal custody. Doerr was released from custody following her arrest. Her initial appearance date has not yet been set.

If convicted, Kolk and Doerr face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The charge against them is the result of an investigation by the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.

EAU CLAIRE MAN CHARGED WITH GUN CRIME

Benjamin M. Winters, 34, Eau Claire, Wis., is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges that on August 23, 2014, he possessed a .22 caliber pistol.

If convicted, Winters faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Eau Claire County, Dunn County, and Chippewa County Sheriffs’ Offices, the Eau Claire Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of this case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman.

FITCHBURG MAN CHARGED WITH GUN CRIME

Michael Peterson, 34, Fitchburg, Wis., is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges that on November 7, 2015, he possessed a 9mm pistol.

If convicted, Peterson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Madison Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of this case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.

TWO CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING METHAMPHETAMINE

Jonathan Barrera-Gomez, 28, Beloit, Wis., and Lyn Purdy, 42, South Beloit, Ill., are charged in a 14-count superseding indictment with distributing methamphetamine. The indictment charges Barrera-Gomez and Purdy with distributing methamphetamine on six occasions in June and July 2015. It charges Barrera-Gomez with six counts of distributing methamphetamine in August, September and October 2015. Barrera-Gomez is also charged with distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on September 2 and September 16, 2015.

Barrera-Gomez was charged in an eight-count indictment returned by the grand jury on November 4, 2015, with distributing methamphetamine.

If convicted, Barrera-Gomez and Purdy face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each distribution count. Barrera-Gomez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison on one of the counts alleging the distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison on the other count alleging the distribution of 50 grams of more of methamphetamine. The increased penalty for the second count if based on the purity of the methamphetamine distributed.

The charges against Barrera-Gomez and Purdy are the result of an investigation conducted by G-ROC, a task force formed through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative, to address gang and drug-related violence in Rock County through the coordination of investigations among local and federal law
enforcement agencies. Its members include the FBI; Rock County Sheriff’s Office; Rock County District Attorney’s Office; Beloit Police Department; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of this case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita Rumbelow.

FEDERAL PRISON INMATE CHARGED WITH
POSSESSION OF PROHIBITED OBJECT

David Lavern Lilley, 29, originally from Fargo, N.D., and an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Oxford, Wis., is charged with possessing a prohibited object designed to be used as a weapon. The indictment alleges that on May 8, 2015, he possessed three metal rods with pointed ends bound together and approximately six inches in length.

If convicted, Lilley faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. The prosecution of this case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Jarosz.

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St. Paul Field Division