PORTAGE - The Cambridge-area man shot to death by Columbia County Sheriff's Office personnel Sunday had a court order against him that prohibited him from possessing a firearm. He also was wanted on two bench warrants in Jefferson County.
The state Department of Justice and the Columbia County Sheriff's Office released the man's name Tuesday - Kelly J. Bishell, 51. The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website states he is from Jefferson County.
According to Sheriff Dennis Richards, Bishell fired shots that struck a deputy and a lieutenant before he was shot and killed at a town of Marcellon house at W5298 Highway 33, near the intersection of Highway 44, at about 2 p.m. Sunday.
According to court records, Bishell was going through a divorce.
He failed to show up in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Sept. 29 over a temporary restraining order. Because he did not appear, the court granted the restraining order, in effect for four years, and imposed a firearm prohibition.
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On Oct. 21, he failed to appear in Jefferson County Circuit Court on September charges of operating while intoxicated (sixth offense), a felony; resisting/failing to stop/fleeing; and misdemeanor bail jumping.
A bench warrant also was issued Sept. 30 when he failed to appear on charges of misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor disorderly conduct stemming from an incident in June.
In September 2005, he was sentenced to 42 months of probation on a charge of felony bail jumping and felony OWI (fifth offense), for which he was sentenced to one year in jail with work-release privileges.
His record dates back to 1992, when two people were granted harassment restraining orders against him.
The lieutenant who was shot, a 24-year veteran, and a deputy, a seven-year veteran, were hospitalized briefly and released. Richards said the deputy sustained a superficial wound under the armpit. The lieutenant was not injured, he said, but a bullet passed through his shirt.
The state Department of Justice is continuing its investigation.
Authorities have not said who shot first or how many shots were fired, or why Bishell was at the town of Marcellon home, although Richards said he believed the man was a relative of the homeowner.
Authorities were alerted to a possible domestic violence situation at the home Saturday. When law enforcement personnel checked the man's name, they found outstanding felony warrants from Jefferson County. Richards said Monday that Bishell had given an indication previously that he "wouldn't go back to jail."
Two deputies attempted to contact the man at about 9 p.m. Saturday, but no one was apparently home. Law enforcement personnel watched the house, he said.
Richards said his office received a call from a family member at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday who said the man was armed and had threatened to kill his dog and himself. Richards said officers went back to the residence mainly for a welfare check.
Richards said Monday the man had been upstairs when officers entered the house and fired a handgun at them while advancing down the stairs toward the officers.
Bill Cosh, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said a dog was picked up later by someone at the scene who was familiar with the animal.
There are four lieutenants with the sheriff's office: Detective Roger Brandner. Wayne Smith, Jim Stilson and Doug Jarzynski. Richards said the officers involved were given Monday off with pay to gather their thoughts. Brandner and Smith attended the Monday court proceedings in the murder trial of Curtis Forbes, so neither would have been involved.
The fatal shooting Sunday was the second in about 4 1/2 months involving the sheriff's office. In the early morning hours of June 27, Deputy Michael Haverly shot and killed Shaun M. Bollig, 29, in the town of Leeds. District Attorney Jane Kohlwey determined in July that the shooting was justified.
