PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
JUNEAU, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Criminal charges have been dropped against one of the nine former Waupun Correctional Institution employees who were charged as a result of an investigation into inmate deaths.
Jeramie Chalker, 41, was charged with misconduct in public office. Last week, Dodge County district attorney Andrea Will moved to dismiss the charges.
In her motion, Will wrote:
Mr. Chalker stated that he was instructed to fill out the rounds sheets as described in the criminal complaint by his superior officer. Chalker stated that he was following chain of command when he signed the sheets.
(T)he state believes that the dismissal of Mr. Chalker’s charge is in the interest of justice.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the prison after four inmates died in an eight-month period. The charges were related to the final two deaths: an inmate who died of a stroke and another who died of dehydration and malnourishment.
The prison’s former warden, Randall Hepp, was in court Tuesday. Online court records show a plea and sentencing hearing was scheduled for April 28.
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