Judge Roemer had sentenced Douglas Uhde to six years in prison for armed burglary in 2005.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice has identified Douglas Uhde, 56, as the suspect in the killing of retired Judge John Roemer.
The retired Juneau County, Wisconsin judge was shot and killed in a targeted attack in his home located near the city of New Lisbon, Friday morning.
Douglas Uhde was found in the basement of the judge’s home and was transported to a hospital in critical condition with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to a Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) news release,
“Following failed attempts to negotiate with Douglas K. Uhde, age fifty-six, who was in the home, at approximately 10:17 a.m. the Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team entered the residence and located retired Judge John Roemer, a sixty-eight-year-old male, deceased. Uhde was located in the basement with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement began life-saving measures, and Uhde was transported to a medical facility and remains in critical condition. A firearm was recovered at the scene.”
According to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, Roemer had sentenced Douglas Uhde to six years in prison for armed burglary in 2005. Uhde had a felony criminal history in Wisconsin, and he was last in a Wisconsin prison in 2020. He also had a history of filing court actions alleging he was being unfairly treated.
According to WISN-TV, John Roemer was “zip-tied to a chair and fatally shot.” Douglas Uhde had a hit list that also included Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) was among the names found on a ‘hit list’ believed to belong to Douglas Uhde, her office confirmed to the Detroit News on Saturday.
In a news conference on June 3, 2022, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said the incident occurred in the township of New Lisbon. Kaul said the victim was targeted based on court cases, and he said that other targets have been notified.
Kaul said, “The individual who is a suspect appears to have other targets related to the judicial system,” and “At this point we are not aware of any evidence that there is any active danger to other individuals.”
The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 6:30 a.m. Friday morning about an armed person in a New Lisbon home where two shots had been fired. The caller had been in the home, but left and contacted police from a nearby home.
The state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation and is assisted by the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, Mauston Police Department, Elroy Police Department, Wisconsin State Crime Lab, Wisconsin State Patrol, DOJ’s Office of Crime Victim Services and the FBI.
About Douglas Uhde
According to heavy.com, online records show that Douglas Uhde most recently lived in Saint Helen, Michigan, but had previous Wisconsin addresses in Adams, Marshfield, and Friendship, Wisconsin.
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