Jessica Mcbride

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney has charged Gary Eugene Davis with the domestic violence murder of Jacquelyn Jo Rooney, 51. The victim died from over 12 stab wounds to the torso, three skull fractures from blunt force trauma and blunt force trauma to her jaw "which broke her upper jaw off." The criminal complaint says that Davis, 57, is from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and he was dating Rooney. He is also known as Gary E. Davis. Davis was charged with first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon as well as mayhem and hiding a corpse. He is a repeater because he was previously convicted of Felony Intimidate Victim/Threaten Force - Domestic Abuse. Bail was set at $2 million, according to online court records. "She was born on January 27, 1971, in Fond du Lac, the daughter of Warren and Sharon (Hoch) White," Rooney's obituary reads . "Jackie was a 1989 graduate of Laconia High School. She was a loving, caring, free spirit...

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul came out swinging in the Wisconsin Attorney General debate on Oct. 27, 2022, but he ended up botching the debate in some big ways. We counted at least 7. Kaul squared off against his Republican challenger, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney. Kaul seemed his most animated when he brought up abortion. He distorted Toney's record on some key issues. However, on questions of public safety - with homicide skyrocketing - Kaul flubbed badly. Here are the 7 ways Kaul botched the Wisconsin Attorney General's debate, which was held at the State Bar of Wisconsin : 1. Walking Coldly Away When Asked About the Mother of Child Murder Victim Lisa Ann French & Accusing the Grieving Mom of Playing Politics https://youtu.be/sS0tQCoyy4U Kaul's biggest flub came in the parking lot on his way into the debate. A key requirement of any attorney general is to have empathy for victims. However, when asked to respond to comments ...

Eric Toney to Josh Kaul: "I will not stand for our children being put at risk" Attorney General Josh Kaul has dropped the ball in a big way on Internet Crimes Against Children tips and referrals, with a backlog that may exceed 1,000, Republican candidate Eric Toney says. This means that some predators targeting children may be going free. Toney is demanding that Kaul immediately release the backlog numbers after hearing about them from multiple sources. He has submitted an open records request because Kaul has not provided the information. Challenged on the backlog byToney at Sunday's Up Front debate, Kaul didn't deny it, and he offered no defense. The referrals often come from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Normally, they would be assigned to a Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation employee or local police agencies for further investigation. Under Kaul, they are just sitting there, Toney said. ICAC referrals includ...

"Families are having justice stolen from them by a governor who either didn't care or was asleep at the wheel" -AG candidate Eric Toney Tim Michels, Eric Toney, and a murder victim's family joined together at the Milwaukee Police Association's headquarters to call for changes to the state's parole process, slamming Gov. Tony Evers for the discretionary paroles of heinous killers and rapists during his tenure, saying they have harmed victims' families. Both Toney and Michels said change is needed at the top to put victims first, and they pledged to do so. Two sisters of murder victim Johanna Balsewicz, Karen Kannenberg and Kim Cornils, said at the Friday news conference that they hope Michels is elected this November because "things need to change" with how the state handles paroles, and they believe he would appoint a better Parole Commission chairman. "Our fight isn't over. Our fight is to change the system. I am hoping Michels...

It's very unusual that law enforcement and DAs have so firmly turned their back on the man who holds the position considered by many to be the state's "top cop." Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has only been able to get 5 of the state's 71 Wisconsin district attorneys to support his campaign, laughably calling it a bipartisan "coalition." His Republican opponent, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, the president of the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association, has the support of 30 district attorneys, 28 who are sitting DAs and two who are retired. Furthermore, Kaul has announced zero law enforcement endorsements from police chiefs, police associations or sheriffs, whereas Toney has a long list. Kaul's bizarre attempt to turn a measly 5 DAs into a "coalition" is reminiscent of the wording used by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes, who initially announced a grand total of 9 law enforcement endorseme...

Calling it a “life and death Decision,” the Milwaukee Police Association endorsed Eric Toney for AG, slamming Josh Kaul for failing to prioritize public safety. The Milwaukee Police Association has endorsed Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney for Attorney General instead of Democratic incumbent Josh Kaul, slamming Kaul for putting "safety at the bottom." "Milwaukee Police Association members are working on the front lines every day to provide the highest degree of uninterrupted public safety service to the community. So is Fond du Lac District Attorney Eric Toney," wrote Andrew Wagner, MPA president, in a news release. "That is why the MPA, representing 1,500 professional Police Officers, Forensic Investigators, and Detectives of the City of Milwaukee, proudly announces its endorsement of Eric Toney for the office of Wisconsin Attorney General," the release continues. The MPA said that Eric Toney "is the tough-on-crime prosecutor Milwaukee and ...

Calling it a “life and death Decision,” the Milwaukee Police Association endorsed Eric Toney for AG, slamming Josh Kaul for failing to prioritize public safety. The Milwaukee Police Association has endorsed Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney for Attorney General instead of Democratic incumbent Josh Kaul, slamming Kaul for putting "safety at the bottom." "Milwaukee Police Association members are working on the front lines every day to provide the highest degree of uninterrupted public safety service to the community. So is Fond du Lac District Attorney Eric Toney," wrote Andrew Wagner, MPA president, in a news release. "That is why the MPA, representing 1,500 professional Police Officers, Forensic Investigators, and Detectives of the City of Milwaukee, proudly announces its endorsement of Eric Toney for the office of Wisconsin Attorney General," the release continues. The MPA said that Eric Toney "is the tough-on-crime prosecutor Milwaukee and t...

Josh Kaul crime failure: he's not serious about fighting crime Eric Toney says. Republican attorney general candidate Eric Toney, who is the Fond du Lac County DA, says Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has defunded prosecutors and law enforcement, showing he "isn't serious about addressing the violent crime epidemic. Toney also called out Kaul for his failures to effectively manage the state crime lab. (Read our investigative piece on that here. ) “Josh Kaul is pushing a recycled, liberal wish list of ideas which shows he isn’t serious about addressing the violent crime epidemic. He has defunded prosecutors and law enforcement from DOJ when more police officers and resources for law enforcement are what’s needed," Toney said in response to a big media push Kaul is making for election time on crime. Toney says the AG's press conferences on crime obscure his failed record on the issue. “It takes a focus on traditional law enforcement —  not politica...

Eric Toney, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney who is running for state Attorney General as a Republican, has racked up the endorsements of more than 50 current and retired sheriffs, police chiefs, and district attorneys. Toney is the president of the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association. “As Fond du Lac District Attorney, Eric Toney has proven himself to be a tough but fair prosecutor," said Ryan Waldschmidt, Fond du Lac County Sheriff. "He’s stood with law enforcement by working to keep violent criminals behind bars, encouraging programs to curb offenders from repeating, and ensuring deputies and officers have the legal knowledge they need to make sound decisions on the street when lives are on the line.  Please join me in endorsing Eric Toney for Wisconsin Attorney General.” “Eric Toney has distinguished himself as a tough prosecutor dedicated to the safety of our communities," said Ryan Windorf, President of Wisconsin State Lodge Fraternal Order of Po...

In a podcast analyzing Evers' Safer at Home actions, Ryan Owens criticized people "on the right" who are "saying the governor is a tyrant and all this," calling it "that nonsense." Republican Attorney General primary candidate Ryan Owens, who is a political science professor at UW-Madison, hasn’t appeared on a court case since at least 2005, and his campaign could only come up with 10 court cases he's ever been involved in outside of friend of the court briefs - none criminal cases. In some of those 10 cases, he was giving advice and doing research for an old law firm, not appearing in court as the attorney of record. In other words, he was helping other lawyers with their cases. He's never prosecuted or handled a criminal case in court. Furthermore, in four of the 10 cases his campaign provided, Ryan Owens is not listed as an attorney of record in court records for them, Wisconsin Right Now found. Four of the other cases are administra...

"We will continue to partner with law enforcement to aggressively prosecute those that poison our community by dealing drugs and also seeking treatment options for those battling addiction," -Eric Toney In a press release announcing that a local methamphetamine dealer was sentenced to prison, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney called on the federal government to "gain control of the border crisis," saying that "this border crisis is contributing to deaths within our community and has literally spilled into our streets.” David S. Bresser was sentenced in a methamphetamine drug overdose homicide and fentanyl delivery in Fond du Lac County. Toney used the case as a moment to highlight the source of many lethal drugs in Wisconsin, saying,"fentanyl and methamphetamine pour across the Southern border." Eric Toney is running for Wisconsin Attorney General as a Republican (Professor Ryan Owens is the other Republican primary candidate). Er...