By Heather Ruenz
SLN staff
A man charged with homicide for supplying the heroin that caused the overdose death of a man in Elkhorn will not be allowed to leave jail for the birth of his child, a judge ruled recently.
Jason A. Wedell, 34, appeared in court, in custody with his attorney, Julia Marie May, June 30, on a motion to modify his bond.
May asked the court to consider a short release so Wedell could be present for the birth of his child, the first for he and his girlfriend, who was present in the courtroom.
“She would like him to be present for the birth and a day or two after,” May said.
District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld said while the state “understands the request, Mr. Wedell is charged with a serious felony so I don’t believe it’s appropriate to adjust the bond.”
“I believe he poses a flight risk so don’t recommend granting the request,” Wiedenfeld added.
Walworth County Circuit Judge Kristine Drettwan agreed, saying while the court also understands the request, the seriousness of charges Wedell is facing cannot be overlooked.
“I am denying the request for a furlough because the seriousness of the crimes do imply you pose a flight risk,” Drettwan said.
Wedell was charged Feb. 3 in Walworth County Circuit Court with first-degree reckless homicide and delivering heroin.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Sweetener Supply Corp. in Elkhorn at about 1:45 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, where an employee, Mathew C. Brown, 42, had collapsed. Brown’s brother, William Brown, also an employee at Sweetener Supply, said he looked for his brother around 1:30 p.m., saw him out back of the business on his knees and slumped over and immediately suspected Mathew Brown had overdosed on drugs, according to the complaint.
Mathew Brown died Jan. 6, and police found 10 packets of heroin in his locker at Sweetener Supply, according to the complaint. An autopsy of Brown conducted Jan. 7 indicated he died of an opiate overdose.
Police spoke with James Brown, another brother of Mathew Brown, who said Mathew Brown was a known drug addict and described his dealer. Surveillance video from Sweetener Supply showed a small red car pull into the parking lot at 8:18 a.m. Jan. 6 and a man get out of the car, go to Brown’s car, then get back into his car and leave.
Mathew Brown’s girlfriend, Tammy Bratkovich, said she and Brown had been getting heroin for the past year – on Fridays when Brown gets paid – from “Pud,” later identified as Wedell, who would get money out of Brown’s car, drive to Chicago and then return and give the heroin to Brown, according to the complaint.
Wedell admitted delivering heroin to Brown on Jan. 6 and said Brown usually used two packets of heroin at a time, and Wedell would have sold him 12 packets on Jan. 6, according to the complaint.
Brown had three children ages 14, 13 and 10, five brothers and a sister, according to his obituary.
A three-day jury trial for Wedell is set to begin Oct. 30 at 8:30 a.m. A final pre-trial is scheduled for Oct. 19.
