Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
DEFENDANT DANIEL Ferguson, left, sits with his attorney, James Bucknell, in Gogebic County Circuit Court Thursday during a hearing where Ferguson pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his June escape from the county jail.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Bessemer - The Mercer, Wis., man who escaped from the Gogebic County Jail in June pleaded guilty Thursday to several charges in connection to a multi-day search.
Daniel Gerald Ferguson, 26, pleaded guilty in Gogebic County Circuit Court to one count of escape from jail while awaiting trial for a felony, one count of breaking and entering and one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
He also pleaded to a habitual offender-third offense notice, which doubles the potential maximum sentences Ferguson could face for the charges.
The guilty pleas came as part of a plea agreement that will have another breaking and entering charge, a driving with a suspended license charge, driving with no insurance and reckless driving charges dismissed at sentencing.
Further, the plea agreement also stipulates charges won't be filed in a third breaking and entering case and in an incident where Ferguson was accused of threatening a Department of Health and Human Services worker while in jail.
Ferguson escaped from the jail the evening of June 19, telling Gogebic County Circuit Judge Michael Pope he opened a window and climbed through it to escape.
The escape triggered a search of the area around Powderhorn Mountain that ended with Ferguson's capture on June 23 in a Bessemer residence.
The misdemeanor OWI and other driving-related charges were what Ferguson was arrested on, along with a felony hold from Wisconsin, where he was on probation.
He was originally arrested on June 17 following a traffic stop on Lake Road. Ferguson said he had taken synthetic "benzos" and blacked out prior to the stop.
Ferguson was on probation in Iron County, Wis., for felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery, stemming from a 2015 domestic violence case. According to online Wisconsin court records, Ferguson was sentenced to two years in prison - which was stayed - and three years extended supervision on the charge in July 2015.
