LITTLE GEMS
Tickets go on sale this week Friday, February 23, 2024, for the spring downtown Lake Geneva Wine Walk.
The weather has been untypically warm this winter and it’s easy to slip into spring mode, so why not start planning for spring events? The Spring Wine Walk will sell out fast so now is the time to get registered. The Spring Wine Walk will take place on Sunday, April 7, 2024, from noon until 4 p.m. Get ready for an afternoon of wine sampling while visiting and shopping the beautiful downtown of Lake Geneva. This event is really worth it and registration can be done at downtownlakegeneva.com.
Tickets are $45.00 each and $20.00 for the designated driver’s ticket. Wine Walk tickets include a day full of fun, the wine glass with the sponsor logo, wine samples at each location, snacks along the way, a map and list of participating businesses, a participant lanyard, and a complimentary bag. Proceeds from this event will support the Downtown Lake Geneva Inc. Mural Program.
Oh no, not the Sports Page!
Charges have been filed in the double homicide at the Sports Page Bar in Elkhorn. A convicted felon has been charged in the killings of a bartender and her husband, based in part on the testimony of an eyewitness who managed to flee the sports bar amid the gunfire, police said Friday. Bartender Gina Weingart and her husband, Emerson Weingart, were gunned down just after midnight on February 1st. Thomas Routt was arrested on Feb. 4 after police identified him as a person of interest in the case.
Elkhorn police say a witness inside the bar at the time of the shooting said a man, now believed to be Routt, came into the bar and began playing the gaming machines. Police say Routt admitted to shooting both Gina and Emerson Weingart and to following the witnesses out the back door and continuing to shoot at them as they fled. Authorities say Routt indicated that his motive was a robbery and said he returned to the bar after chasing the witness to take $120-$140 from the open cash drawer. He told officers that the next morning, he tossed the weapon and ammunition in a trash can in Lake Como.
Thomas Routt is now facing two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Routt was out on parole at the time of the murders in Elkhorn. He was granted parole in 2020 and had been out of prison since. Friday, Routt appeared via video for a hearing in the Walworth County Jail. Routt spoke only once at Friday’s hearing when the judge wondered if Routt had an attorney. Routt replied, “Yes, sir, he is. But he’s in court right now in Milwaukee.” A public defender handled the rest of the hearing. Routt did not speak again. Routt’s Attorney Russell Jones said, “We will be pleading not guilty.”
Jones said the criminal complaint is only the state’s view of what happened. “It’s their summary of the case, it’s not subject to cross-examination, it’s not evidence,” Jones said neither he nor Routt have seen any evidence yet. That will come after the preliminary hearing. “It wouldn’t surprise me if there were surveillance cameras, but at this point, we have not been provided any video footage of anything.”
Jeff Weingart alluded to Routt’s history when he spoke during Friday’s hearing, telling the judge, “Please recall that the system that convicted and incarcerated him failed.” Jeff Weingart said the families are also hoping for a speedy trial. Routt’s initial appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Update on the Bonnie Brae Lane shooting.
This violent event occurred on February 12, 2024. While the investigation is still ongoing two juveniles are in custody related to the incident. A stolen vehicle used in the crime has been recovered. The victim in the case is expected to make a full recovery. The police department’s assessment indicates that this was a targeted attack, and the investigation includes the home invasion on January 6th that occurred at the same residence as this shooting on February 12th. This was not a random attack and there is no threat to the community at this time.
The police will release more information and details when they can do so. There is a threat to the community in general, however, even if the immediate threat has been contained. These teenagers are all ‘students’ from Badger High School, located very near to the neighborhood that’s being stained with this blight of drug usage and sales. These teenagers, without the school’s apparent intercession or even knowledge, are running wild out there. Come on Ms. Jenny Straus, you have been the principal long enough to get a handle on this kind of deep penetration of drug activity into the local high school system!
This series of incidents should galvanize the school district (led by the terrific superintendent named Peter Wilson), the police force (led by a great police chief named Ed Gritzner), and Badger High School (Ms. Straus herself) to form a united effort to do something about what is more than a small neighborhood problem.