After several months of investigation, the University of Wisconsin Police Department decided not to pursue charges against Jesse Miller, the man they believe is responsible for the campus lockdown last September.
On Sept. 25, police responded to reports of a call from a suicidal man wanting police to shoot him, forcing university officials to cancel evening classes on the west side of campus. Police searched buildings and parking ramps in the area and did not find anyone but suspected the caller was Miller, then 19 years old.
According to UWPD assistant chief Dale Burke, police traced the phone calls to San Diego and arrested Miller there before returning him to Wisconsin. Although police believe Miller made the phone calls, their investigation did not yield conclusive proof.
“Believing that and being able to prove it in a court of law are two different things,” Burke said. “We were unable to really technologically connect the dots and that’s pretty much what it boiled down to.”
Burke said UWPD maintained communication with both the Madison Police Department and the District Attorney’s office throughout their investigation.
According to Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer, campus police were responsible for recommending that charges be filed in the Miller case.
“[The UWPD] officially sends us police reports requesting us to make formal charges [and] they have not given us [an] official request for charges,” Verveer said.
According to court records, Miller was incarcerated in Dane County Jail in April 2007 after failing to complete a teen rehab program following a conviction for armed robbery in June 2006. While on Huber work release, Miller did not return from a medical appointment on Sept. 8 and was not heard from until allegedly making the suicidal phone call.
According to his attorney Eric Schulenburg, Miller plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for charges stemming from his escape and incidents during his incarceration. Burke said additional charges from the UWPD are not necessary.
“The bottom line is we’ve got other things right now that are of a higher priority … Mr. Miller is behind bars where he belongs and hopefully this won’t happen again,” Burke said.
