2 Accused Of Planning To Kill Officer, Harm Judge
HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — A convicted felon and his wife have been accused of conspiring to kill a River Falls police officer and threatening to harm a St. Croix County judge, allegedly as retribution for the man's early October arrest on other charges.
According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this week, Kelly Kloss, 56, spoke to his wife, Cheryl Kloss, 60, from the St. Croix County Jail by phone 32 times to plot his revenge against the officer and judge.
The two face several felony charges, including conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide and conspiracy to commit battery or threat to a judge. Both are in custody, and court records do not list defense attorneys.
Police and sheriff's deputies arrested Kelly Kloss in October at his River Falls home. He had been a fugitive from Marathon County for 10 months, where he was jailed on nine drunken-driving violations. He got a furlough to attend his mother's funeral and never returned to jail, KMSP-TV reported.
Officers with a search warrant used a battering ram to get into the couple's home late on Oct. 10 but at first could not find Kelly Kloss. In the bedroom police discovered a small door behind a dresser, and after officers warned they would release a police dog, Kelly Kloss came out from behind the door, the complaint said.
Investigators reviewed phone conversations between the couple after Kelly Kloss was jailed. In one conversation, Kloss told his wife to "contact his old navy buddy to rig explosives at the house should River Falls Police Department come to their house again to kill the officers," the complaint said.
The complaint also said that Kelly Kloss told his wife to load their guns and be ready to shoot officers if they came to their house. Police said they recovered several loaded guns from the residence.
Kelly Kloss also called one police officer "a criminal" and said he "wants to get him and put him in a dirt mat," the complaint said. Kloss also said his wife should "assassinate" the judge who signed the search warrant should he be convicted, according to the complaint.
Cheryl Kloss is in the St. Croix County Jail. Her husband is back in the Marathon County Jail.
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