Court upholds public safety ruling against Winneconne man

MADISON – A state appeals court Wednesday upheld a town of Winneconne man's endangering public safety misdemeanor concluding that shooting into a neighbor's property during a Memorial Day 2012 shooting party was enough evidence to convict.

Steven E. Steffek, 52, challenged the conviction on grounds that evidence at trial did not establish that anyone was dodging bullets in a "zone of danger" as his neighbor, Matthew L. Sagorac, was not home at the time.

Instead, District II Court of Appeals Judge Paul Reilly ruled that jurors had sufficient evidence including a bullet recovered from a chair on Sagorac's back porch, Sagorac's buildings were well within the ammunition's 8,000-foot range and the lack of physical barriers on Steffek's target range.

According to Reilly's opinion:

Steffek admitted he had been shooting a .223-caliber rifle in the direction of Sagorac's and Brad Fuss' Sunset Trail properties but denied that he fired the shot that struck Sagorac's chair.

Both Fuss and Sagorac testified to having problems with Steffek prior to the Memorial Day 2012 shooting party but he usually responded to their concerns with defiance and vulgarity, according to a brief Assistant District Attorney Adam Levine wrote.

Sheriff's deputy Kyle Schoonover provided the testimony about Steffek's gun range located 2,645 feet from Sagorac's property.

Jurors found Steffek guilty of party to the crime of endangering safety by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon but acquitted him of disorderly conduct. In July 2013, Circuit Judge Daniel Bissett placed Steffek on probation for a year, ordered him to complete a hunter safety course, pay restitution of $397 and add a background to his gun range.

On appeal, Steffek's attorney Thomas Grieve, argued that his client was not negligent toward his neighbor's safety. Instead he has six years of military training with the National Guard, owns numerous rifles and Fuss and Sagorac live to the side and above where Steffek was shooting.

Although there was no berm to stop bullets a tree line at the edge of the range could act as a barrier.

Also, the bullet recovered from Sagorac's chair did not come from a gun seized from Steffek.

While Grieve argued that Steffek should be acquitted since no one was hurt, Reilly disagreed.

"A reasonable jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Steffek should have known that using a rifle within shooting distance of residential homes, with nothing more than two sand-filled buckets and the surrounding topography to stop stray bullets, created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or great bodily harm to others," Reilly wrote.

Steffek was "disappointed" by Wednesday's decision, and maintains that he committed no crime, said Grieve.

Steffek is a firearms enthusiast who went to trial and appealed the conviction "because he is a very principled gentleman," said Grieve.

Steffek completed his probation and uses his target range after making improvements approved by local authorities, said Grieve.