By Shereen Siewert
A 62-year-old Friendship man who threatened to blow up the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department in Wausau with a bomb or a grenade will avoid prison if he successfully completes three years of probation.
Police say Krzysztof K. Wygoda has a history of aggressive acts that escalated since his release from an Illinois prison. He was charged Oct. 14 with making a terrorist threat and bail jumping in Marathon County Circuit Court.
It is unclear for what type of crime Wygoda served prison time in Illinois.
According to the criminal complaint Wygoda called the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department 911 center repeatedly in the early morning hours of Oct. 12 threatening to blow up the building. The calls allegedly began shortly after he was released from jail in Adams County, where he faced disorderly conduct, drunken driving and bail jumping charges.
Police say Wygoda threatened to walk into the building with a grenade in his hand, made references to the Oklahoma City bombing and also claimed to be a former Navy Seal. In addition, Wygoda allegedly said he would fly a “F-1 fighter plane out of Baraboo and drop bombs” on the Sheriff’s Department.
When advised that threatening to blow up a government building was illegal, Wygoda allegedly responded with “(Expletive) you, come find me,” according to the incident report.
Police say Wygoda has documented mental health issues, consumes alcohol, refuses to take medication and habitually causes disturbances that have resulted in arrests in Adams, Portage and Marathon Counties. His increasing level of aggression, “implementation of edged weapons” and reference to explosives alarmed investigators, who located Wygoda at an Adams County home and transported him to the Marathon County Jail.
During a plea and sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Wygoda was convicted of making a terrorist threat and, in a separate case, of carrying a concealed knife and disorderly conduct in a separate case. Circuit Judge LaMont Jacobson ordered Wyoda to spend one year in prison and two years on extended supervision, but imposed and stayed the sentence for three years of probation.
Wygoda was also ordered to undergo treatment and counseling. He is prohibited from possessing any dangerous weapons.
