Wisconsin man charged in pair of random Antioch-area shootings

A 41-year-old Wisconsin man faces four felony weapons charges in a pair of random shootings last month near Antioch, Lake County sheriff's police said Monday.

Joseph L. Engmark, of the 10700 block of 255th Street in Trevor, Wisconsin, remains in custody at the Lake County jail on $75,000 bail pending an Oct. 7 court appearance on the charges, which could land him up to seven years in prison if convicted.

His arrest Friday culminated an investigation into reports of shots fired Aug. 27 and Aug. 31 in the Channel Lake subdivision outside Antioch, authorities said. No one was reported injured.

Investigators on both occasions recovered .22-caliber shell casings at the scene and later received information about a vehicle possibly involved, sheriff's police said.

Based on the description of the vehicle, deputies determined it was in a recent crash in Antioch involving Engmark, authorities said. Deputies later learned Engmark was a suspect in a 2018 burglary near Antioch in which a .22-caliber rifle was stolen, according to the sheriff's office.

Based on witness accounts, sheriff's police said, Engmark matched the description of the person who had been randomly shooting in the Channel Lake subdivision.

On Friday, deputies located Engmark driving on Tiffany Road north of Route 173 in Antioch, pulled him over and placed him under arrest. They also discovered the stolen rifle in his vehicle, authorities said.

Engmark is charged with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and driving with a revoked driver's license.

"I am extraordinarily proud of these patrol deputies for working diligently to identify and apprehend this man who was randomly driving through a neighborhood, firing a gun and traumatizing the community," Sheriff John Idleburg said in an announcement of the arrest.