By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A 20-year-old Wausau man accused of stalking and intentionally ramming into the back of a teenage girl’s vehicle before crashing into a tree on Wausau’s east side reached a plea deal Wednesday that will allow him to avoid prison time if he stays out of trouble for three years.
Carl Martens initially faced felony charges in Marathon County Circuit Court of stalking, false imprisonment and second degree recklessly endangering safety along with misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property. The charges were filed Aug. 17, four days after an incident in which Martens followed a 17-year-old girl in her vehicle and repeatedly rammed her car from behind.
The girl told police Martens’ feelings were hurt because she did not wish to pursue a relationship with him.
As part of a plea agreement, Judge Greg Huber sentenced Martens to three years of probation on the false imprisonment charges and deferred both the stalking and reckless endangerment charges for the duration of Martens’ probation. If Martens follows the rules of his probation and commits no new crimes during the three-year period, the deferred charges will ultimately be dropped.
Huber also ordered Martens to undergo counseling as deemed appropriate by his assigned probation agent, write a letter of apology to the victim, take all medications as prescribed, complete 150 hours of community service and pay $3,660.13 in restitution, according to court records.
