Crime & Safety

Man Convicted in Racine Ave. Shooting

Richard Petarius, 76, could spend more than 27 years in prison after admitting to shooting a sawed-off shotgun in his ex-wife's home.

A man accused of shooting at a Waukesha police officer after injuring his wife was convicted on Thursday of four felonies and a misdemeanor.

Richard Petarius, 76, will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Nov. 1 by Judge Jennifer Dorow for second-degree recklessly endangering safety, false imprisonment possession of a firearm in violation of a domestic abuse junction, possession of a short-barreled shot gun and knowingly violating a domestic abuse injunction. He faces up to 27 years and three months in prison at sentencing.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors are no longer pursuing an attempted homicide charge. Petarius previously was charged with the attempted homicide of Waukesha police officer Amanda Bauer after reports say a bullet came within inches of her and debris hit her cheek.

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Petarius, who was a clown with Tripoli Shrine in 2008, was accused of pointing a shotgun at officers investigating a domestic abuse incident at Petarius’ ex-wife’s Racine Avenue home Oct. 23. Police shot at him before he returned fire at the officers, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers shot 26 times at Petarius as cover fire while getting to safety with Petarius’ ex-wife. One police officer was struck by bullet debris from Petarius’ returned shot, but Petarius was uninjured, according to the complaint.

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Dorow will consider all the facts in the criminal complaint to be true at sentencing, although Petarius is in disagreement with Bauer’s account of the incident.

Petarius, while pleading guilty on Thursday, tried to argue he hadn’t shot the gun at anyone. He admitted he did not know where his ex-wife was when he fired the gun but told Dorow he did not shoot at the officer, but rather toward the ceiling and wall.

“I don’t believe she was anywhere near the spot where I shot,” Petarius said in court.

Dorow questioned him about his endangerment of his upstairs neighbors, and he told the judge he knew the bullet would not go through the reinforced concrete ceiling.

Waukesha police officers Bauer and Jan Corrigan received a valor award – the highest award available for Waukesha police officers – for their actions to save the elderly woman's life.


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