Wisconsin man says he’s on same hit list of suspect who allegedly killed former judge

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A Wisconsin business owner and candidate running for Chippewa County Sheriff says he is on the same hit list of a suspect who police allege killed former Juneau County Judge John Roemer.

Dan Marcon says he got a call from the Department of Criminal Investigation’s lead detective on Friday, June 3.

“They said we found a hit list with your name on it,” recounts Marcon.

Marcon says he hadn’t heard the news of the death of Roemer just yet, so initially, he was confused by the phone call. But the detective on the other end assured him he was not in any danger since the suspect was in custody recovering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a hospital.

Marcon owns a gun shop in Chippewa County. He is also running for Chippewa County Sheriff. Marcon says he originally thought he was on the hit list because of the election. He then saw the suspect’s picture and said he vaguely remembered Uhde as an inmate in the same facility where Marcon worked as a correctional officer. He says he remembers one brief interaction.

“I believe there was an incident one time, and like I said, in probably 2008, that I might have wrote him up as an inmate, kind of like an inside ticket. I remember a ticket I think he was involved in it, but without going back through the records, I wouldn’t really know that. But I wrote 200 tickets back then,” explains Marcon.

Marcon says DCI reached out to him on Monday with an update on the investigation. He says a detective told him they believe Uhde acted alone, and there is still no threat to him or others on the hit list.

Other people confirmed by NBC News to be on that list include Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Attorney General Josh Kaul spoke about the investigation on Monday.

“In general there is a troubling rise in violent rhetoric when it comes to public officials,” says Kaul.

The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office says Woodland Hills Road in New Lisbon is back open near Roemer’s house. It had been blocked off by caution tape since Friday as detectives processed the crime scene.

There is a community vigil planned for Roemer on Saturday.

The DOJ announced Saturday that it was investigating a critical incident that that resulted in the death of the retired judge.

The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 6:30 a.m. Friday that there was an armed person and two shots were fired in a New Lisbon residence. The caller exited the home and contacted law enforcement from a nearby home.

DOJ said negotiations were attempted with Douglas K. Uhde, 56, before the Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team entered the home at 10:17 a.m. Friday.

Officials located former Judge John Roemer, 68, deceased in the home. Uhde was in the basement at the time with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to DOJ. Officials began life-saving measures before Uhde was transported to a medical facility, where he remains in critical condition.

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