MUSCODA - Franklin Jonathan Hurley, 24, La Crosse, is facing 42 separate charges following an arrest in Muscoda on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
The charges break down to 30 counts of misdemeanor bail jumping, six counts of felony bail jumping, four counts of theft (three misdemeanor, one felony), one count of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and one count of burglary- arming self with a dangerous weapon.
According to the criminal complaint issued by the Grant County Circuit Court Muscoda Chief of Police Bill Schramm was dispatched to meet with Victim One on January 5 at approximately 10:30 a.m.
Victim one informed Schramm over the phone that he needed to report a burglary to one of the buildings he owned on West Nebraska Street in the village of Muscoda. It was noted in the report that a stainless steel Ruger .44 magnum revolver pistol was taken.
Shortly after this report was made, at 10:50 a.m. Schramm was dispatched to a welfare check on an individual identified in the criminal complaint as “Citizen One.” The caller who had requested the welfare check, according to the criminal complaint, explained to dispatch that Citizen One’s grandson, Franklin Hurley was at the residence.
Schramm proceeded to Citizen One’s apartment where he made contact with Citizen One and Hurley. According to the criminal complaint, the caller had shown Schramm photos of two hand guns that Hurley had allegedly taken as well from Citizen One’s apartment.
They noted that Hurley was sending photos to other individuals in an attempt to sell the guns. Schramm noted in the criminal complaint that he noticed that the shoes Franklin was currently wearing as well as a wristband were visible in the photos. One of the guns also matched the description of the aforementioned Victim One’s .44 Magnum.
Schramm located Hurley in a parking lot where he was speaking with another individual. According to the criminal complaint, Schramm invited Hurley to sit in his squad car with him as the “wind was blowing hard and it was bitterly cold” outside.
Schramm proceeded to have Hurley place his two bags on the hood of the squad. According to the criminal complaint, Hurley told Schramm that he had guns in his bag that he was trying to sell “for a buddy” in La Crosse.
When Schramm asked Hurley what type of guns they were, he noted they were a .44 and a .22, and that they were loaded.
According to the criminal complaint, Schramm asked Hurley if he had a concealed carry permit, to which he responded that he did not. After opening the bag, Schramm was able to locate a stainless steel Ruger .22. Schramm cleared the weapon and found that it had a full magazine with one round in the chamber. He also located the .44 magnum revolver which was also fully loaded with six rounds.
Upon this discovery, Schramm called Victim One and asked him to describe the firearm he was missing again. According to the criminal complaint, the individual identified as Victim One described the .44 Magnum in full detail, and also informed Schramm that there was a stainless steel Ruger .22 automatic missing as well.
Schramm proceeded to empty the contents of Hurley’s bags and photograph them, noting that some of the items had Victim One’s name on them. Later, according to the criminal complaint, Victim One identified both firearms as well as most of the property.
He shared with Schramm that he uses the basement of the building for storage and that much of the stuff in the basement was new products, including the backpacks which were taken. It was also reported by Victim one that he had spoken with the tenants of the building where the items were taken from and that they had noticed an individual hanging around the building in the early morning hours.
Later, the tenants were able to speak with Schramm and identify one of the bags as a pink purse that belonged to their girlfriend as well as many of the contents in the photo. The individual noted that these items were in his car that was parked in front of the building.
During the course of the investigation there was a third victim contacted by Schramm. According to the criminal complaint this victim informed Schramm that one of the trucks in the victims’ gated parking lot had been gone through and that a box of .308 shells had been removed. It was also revealed by the victim that the suspect was captured on video.
Schramm met with the victim who was identified in the criminal complaint as Victim Three, and was able to view the video. According to the criminal complaint the video depicted a suspect walking through a parking lot from the vehicle that had been gone through and climbing the fence. Schramm noted in the criminal complaint that the suspect in the video was wearing a “black coat with a hood that distinctively had fur around it.” It was also noted that the suspect was wearing a yellow glove. Schramm questioned the victim about this glove, noting in the criminal complaint that a similar one had been found in Hurley’s bag. It was noted by Victim Three that it was “more than likely a work glove that the feed mill provided to employees and it says ‘Kent’ on it.” Victim three indicated that the truck would have had some in there and that it was probably taken from there. Schramm proceeded to show Victim Three the glove and Victim Three identified it as the exact same one as was found in Hurley’s property.
Additionally, the suspect was wearing work boots that were noted to have been “retrieved” from one of the aforementioned citizens involved in the investigation.
Days later, on January 6, Schramm was contacted by Victim One to notify him that the coat with the distinct fur hood was found, and that he also had found a box of .308 shells in a secret compartment of one of the backpack that was returned to him.
Hurley appeared by video in Grant County Court, while in custody on Friday, Jan. 7. Hurley was informed that under the conditions of his $10,000 cash bond he was not to have any contact with the specific properties in Muscoda. At the time of this reporting he was still in custody. Hurley is set to appear in court for a status hearing on January 12 at 2 p.m. in the Grant County Court house.
