By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A 27-year-old man charged in connection with a near-fatal overdose that happened in November on Wausau’s east side will spend five years on probation, part of a withheld sentence ordered in two separate cases.
As part of a plea agreement Aaron Mielke, of Rothschild, will be required to follow all rules of the Marathon County Drug Recovery Court program, undergo assessment and treatment and maintain absolute sobriety from controlled substances and alcohol.
First responders and officers responded at about 10:15 p.m. Nov. 9 to a home in the 700 block of Forest Street after a 911 call advised a man was overdosing on heroin at the residence. When police and EMTs arrived at the scene, the alleged victim was breathing but was non-responsive and seated in a bedroom of the home. The man was revived and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Investigators traced the suspected heroin to Aaron Mielke, who allegedly told police in an interview he mixed the shot of drugs and gave a syringe to the alleged victim, whose name was not released in court records. When Mielke realized the man was overdosing, he panicked and allegedly fled the home, but called 911, according to statements included in court documents.
Police say Mielke bought the drugs from a dealer outside a convenience store in Wausau.
In the overdose case, Mielke faced charges filed Dec. 29 of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, delivery of heroin and bail jumping. In a separate case filed in February 2021, Mielke faced charges of possessing burglarious tools, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal damage to property and bail jumping.
During a plea and sentencing hearing on Friday, all but two charges were dismissed and Mielke was convicted of manufacturing or delivering heroin as a repeater and possession of burglarious tools as party to a crime. Circuit Judge Suzanne O’Neill issued the withheld sentence, which means the court has not imposed a sentence but instead ordered Mielke to be placed under the supervision of the Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections. If his probation is revoked, he will go back in front of the judge for sentencing.
