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The beat report

The courthouse was buzzing the other night about a guy who leaped over a third-floor railing and fell two floors to avoid arrest.

Several courthouse employees told me the guy was at the Rock County District Attorney’s Office when a deputy was about to arrest him for a warrant.

The man ran from the deputy and jumped a railing, and he dropped 10 to 20 feet onto the main stairs leading from the second floor to the parking ramp. It’s a pretty good fall.

The guy then got up and fled out the door, where he was caught. I guess he suffered only minor injuries.

The weird part is that I was told the man’s warrant wasn’t serious. I guess he would have likely been held a couple hours until an afternoon court appearance. He then would have likely been released on a signature bond.

Anyway, welcome to the beat report. I hope to make this a regular blog to tell you about what I see, hear or learn during my days covering cops and courts. The blog will be on background tidbits that don’t make the paper.

LEFT IN THE NOTEBOOK

Dale Moore, the man convicted of misdemeanors last week for shooting a dog with an arrow, had several people supporting him in the courtroom during his trial.

His wife and pastor were often in court. Several other people who appeared to be family members and friends also attended parts of Moore’s trial.

I’m not surprised he had supporters. I received lots of phone calls from people saying he was innocent while I covered the case. Others sent me e-mails.

It’s not unusual for me to get calls or e-mails about cases, but the number of people who contacted me about Moore was unusual. Lots of people had his back.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

Some of the coolest people in the criminal justice system are the security guards at the Rock County Courthouse.

They’ll often greet you with a friendly hello or fist bump. They can tell you what’s happening in court that day. And they’re always willing to shoot the breeze.

Lots of attorneys, bailiffs and others like to congregate near the security check-in station with the guards. The area is like the justice system’s version of a neighborhood barbershop.

QUOTABLE

• “We are safe ... We are protected in Tokyo Bay, so tsunamis shouldn’t bother us … Pray for the rest of Japan. The tsunamis are predicted to be over 190 meters. We have had continuous earthquakes of at least two per hour for the last eight hours,” former Janesville resident Jack Hathway, in a Facebook post after Japan’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake, quoted in a story that I wrote for Saturday’s paper.

TWEETS WORTH RETWEETING

• “What a bunch of BULL, he got off way too easy,” @LisaAFreeman, referring to the man who pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor in the cat shooting case as part of a plea agreement.

• “From what I heard, sounds like most are heading to their homes. After three weeks, I might have some laundry,” @JonNelsonJDN, referring to the 14 Wisconsin Democratic senators who fled to Illinois.

FAVORITE FACEBOOK COMMENTS

• “Pissing yourself and getting an OWI is the best possible outcome after drinking Steel Reserve,” R.B., referring to an item in the blotter about a drunken-driving arrest.

• “I really make a point in my life to NEVER be a TOPIC of your reports and posts. So far, so good. lol,” A.R.
  

OFF THE BEAT

I’ve been taking my boys to the library a lot lately, and I discovered a collection of books and movies about baseball.

I’m currently reading two books on the history of baseball in Milwaukee, including the Braves and Brewers. I also recently watched the documentaries “Baseball,” “Baseball: The Tenth Inning” and “Harvey’s Wallbangers: The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.”

Spring, it seems, can’t come soon enough.

LOOKING AHEAD

Not a lot of action in court next week. I’m sure some news will break, but I might finally be able to work on a project story that I have in the works.

Also, look for a fun feature that I wrote about a few Janesville police officers. The officers wrote a children’s book and photographed the book’s pictures. They often read the book to kindergartners. I went with them during a recent reading.

Ted Sullivan can be reached at (608) 755-8253, tsullivan@gazettextra.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook at Rock County Crime.