RACINE COUNTY (WITI) -- A Racine man, charged in connection with the theft of racing pigeons from a home in the Village of Caledonia has reached a plea deal in the case against him.
36-year-old Jason Kessler has pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges: theft of movable property (less than $2,500) and battery.
On the theft charge, Kessler was sentenced to 18 months probation.
On the battery charge, Kessler was sentenced to 90 days in a Huber facility. He was ordered to report on January 3rd.
A criminal complaint filed against him says on October 5th, 2014, shortly before 2:00 a.m., Caledonia police responded to the 2700 block of Three Mile Road in the Village of Caledonia -- making contact with a man. That man advised of a home that was no longer occupied -- saying the previous owner (his son-in-law) had installed motion detectors and trail cameras on the property. Those motion detectors had set off an alarm at the father-in-law's home and at the home in question around midnight.
The man told police while checking the property, a man came out of the bushes on the west side of the property with five racing pigeons wrapped in his arms. The man told police he confronted the suspect, and a struggle ensued. The birds were able to fly free.
The complaint says the man police spoke with suffered a seven-millimeter laceration on his right hand as a result of this incident.
The man told police that during the struggle, he was pushed to the ground, and the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle.
Police spoke with the man's son-in-law -- the former owner of the home. He said each of his pigeons was valued at $100, and they were kept in a chicken coop on the property.
Police discovered one of the locks on the chicken coop had been damaged.
The property owner took a look at images from the trail cameras, and was able to help police identify the suspect.
The complaint says when police made contact with Kessler at his home, they observed two racing pigeons in the basement.