Somerset man sentenced for role in thefts

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Chad Allen Wyttenbach, 36, Somerset, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to six months in prison, without the possibility of parole, for transporting stolen tractors between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wyttenbach pleaded guilty to this charge on Feb. 17, 2011.

Wyttenbach was originally indicted on July 22, 2010, along with Eric Edward Garvey, 40, White Bear Lake, Minn., and Victor Ernest Trejo, 51, Prescott, in a 10-count indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles, interstate sale of stolen vehicles, interstate transportation of stolen goods, possessing stolen goods and possessing stolen motor vehicles.

On Jan. 28, 2011, Trejo pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a stolen vehicle that had been transported in interstate commerce, and agreed to cooperate with the government in its case against Garvey. Wyttenbach also agreed to provide testimony against Garvey. Garvey was convicted on July 14, 2011 of the transportation and sale of stolen vehicles and property, following a three-day jury trial in federal court in Madison in which both Trejo and Wyttenbach testified against Garvey.

On April 21, 2011, Judge Conley sentenced Trejo to three years of probation and ordered him to pay restitution of $93,777, jointly with the co-defendants. Garvey’s sentencing was set for Sept. 9. Judge Conley previously sentenced Garvey on May 22, 2011, to 42 months in prison for the distribution of methamphetamine. Garvey was found guilty of four charges of distributing methamphetamine after a two-day trial in federal court in Madison in February 2011.

The charges against Wyttenbach were the result of an investigation conducted by the sheriff’s departments of Burnett County, Barron County, Dunn County, St. Croix County, Chippewa County and Polk County, as well as Ramsey County, Minn.; New Richmond, Webb Lake and Cameron police departments; and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter M. Jarosz and Antonio Trillo.

Tags: crime and courts, communities, crime, somerset, wisconsin