By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A Wausau man accused of putting a gun to a woman’s head and threatening to kill her will spend seven years on probation and a year in jail after reaching a deal in multiple cases, court records show.
Walter Lee Calloway, 31, was also accused of sending sexually explicit photos of the woman to her mother and her child. Police on Oct. 27 alerted the public that they were searching for Calloway in connection with two felony arrest warrants and domestic violence charges. He was arrested two weeks later and taken to the Marathon County Jail, where he was ordered held on a $75,000 cash bond.
According to a criminal complaint, Calloway took the alleged victim’s phone, which had account logins to her social media accounts, bank accounts, Uber and other connections and refused to give the phone back.
According to a criminal complaint, Calloway took the alleged victim’s phone, which had account logins to her social media accounts, bank accounts, Uber and other connections and refused to give the phone back. Police are investigating whether Calloway illegally transferred money from her account to himself, the complaint states.
On Nov. 10, prosecutors charged Calloway with strangulation and suffocation, theft, felony intimidation of a victim, first-degree recklessly endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, posting or publishing a sexually explicit image without consent and other related charges. Court records show Calloway was already facing felony domestic violence charges filed in September.
On Jan. 29, Calloway appeared before Circuit Judge Greg Strasser for a plea and sentencing hearing and was convicted of taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent, strangulation and suffocation, intimating a victim of a domestic abuse crime, first-degree recklessly endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon and bail jumping. An additional 18 charges were dismissed but read into the record.
For charges of bail jumping as well as strangulation and suffocation filed in September, Judge Strasser ordered a withheld sentence for seven years of probation. A withheld sentence means that if Calloway’s probation is revoked, he will go back in front of the judge, who decides how much time will be served in prison. Calloway also recieved a 12-month jail sentence in a December 2022 case in which he was charged with taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
To settle all other charges, Judge Strasser handed down an “imposed and stayed” sentence, which means the court orders a prison term but stays that sentence and places a suspect under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. In this case, Calloway was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of extended supervision, but will not serve the prison time if he is successful on probation for five years.
The probation terms are to be served at the same time.
