By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
A Glendale man appeared in court Monday afternoon on charges stemming from an October 2014 robbery in the Town of Troy where a woman was shot and a man beaten.
Michael Kraft, 35, is facing felony charges of armed robbery, first-degree reckless injury, substantial battery and false imprisonment in connection with the robbery.
He is one of four men charged in the robbery of an apartment at Barley’s Hops and Malt in the Town of Troy.
Kraft pleaded not guilty to the charges March 5, 2015, and was scheduled to be tried on Aug. 24, 2015, but the jury trial didn’t take place.
At Monday’s status conference, Kraft’s attorney told Judge Phillip A. Koss the defense had agreed on an offer from the district’s attorney’s office, but because the offer included testimony from Kraft in the upcoming trials of Jacob A. Curler, 35, of East Troy, and Jeremy L. Thomas, 28, of Milwaukee, they would need to set a status conference early next year to give Kraft time to testify in the trials.
Thomas is scheduled for a final pre-trial conference Jan. 17 and a four-day jury trial beginning Jan. 23.
Curler is scheduled for a final pre-trial conference Feb. 6 and a five-day jury trial beginning Feb. 20. However, Kraft’s attorney told the judge that because Curler is without representation at the moment because of the death of his attorney, that trial could be delayed.
Koss asked Kraft if he understood that he would be remaining in jail until he testified in the trials, and Kraft said he did.
A status conference was set for Feb. 10.
According to the criminal complaints, three men entered an apartment at Barley’s Hops and Malt in the Town of Troy on Oct. 20, 2014, and injured the residents.
A detective spoke with one of the residents, Afrim Lika, at the hospital. Lika was bruised and required several stitches closing a cut above his eye and a cut on his head behind his right ear, according to the complaint.
Lika told the detective he went to bed around 10:30 p.m. or 10:45 p.m. and was in his bedroom when two men allegedly entered the room with guns.
Lika said he kicked the skinny robber in the arm and fought with him and then the second man. He said the skinnier man told the other man to tie up Lika’s wife, Altije Fejza, and Lika fought with both men, according to the complaint.
Lika said as he fought with the three men, Fejza helped stop the men from hitting Lika, and one of the men shot her in the leg, according to the complaint. A bullet entered Fejza’s thigh and exited her right calf, according to the complaint.
Grant allegedly told an informant that he shot Altije Fejza, and the informant identified Grant in a photo lineup. Grant admitted participating in the robbery and said he saw the other robbers fight with Lika and saw one of the other robbers shootAltijeFejza, according to the complaint.
Grant told police one of the other robbers was known as “White Boy Mike,” who was later identified as Kraft. When Kraft was arrested, he told a detective he was “probably going away for a long time for this,” according to the criminal complaint. During an interview with the detective, Kraft allegedly acknowledged Curler was one of the robbers and said Curler anticipated getting $30,000 to $50,000 from the robbery.
The fourth man involved in the robber, Drevon A. Grant, 20, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty July 23 to armed robbery.
Charges of first-degree reckless injury, substantial battery and false imprisonment against him were dismissed but read in to the record, meaning they could be considered during sentencing.
Grant was sentenced Dec. 21 to 15 years in state prison and seven years extended supervision.
Staff Writer Vicky Wedig contributed to this report.
