Plea hearing set for Waukesha man accused of pointing unloaded assault rifle at police

Published on: 6/21/2016

The case against a Waukesha man who reportedly pointed an assault rifle at local police in January, in an alleged attempt to bait officers into killing him, could soon come to an end.

Dean Stamm, 51, appeared in Waukesha County Circuit Court Monday, June 20, when his attorney, Matthew Huppertz, requested a plea and sentencing date, according to online court records. That hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1.

Stamm stands accused of six felony and six misdemeanor offenses for allegedly pointing a laser sight and an unloaded assault rifle at several police officers who arrived at his home in the 200 block of Douglas Avenue Jan. 24 to perform a well-being check on him.

Stamm's girlfriend requested the check because she was concerned Stamm — who was depressed and had been drinking that day and had easy access to his assault rifle — would kill himself, according to a criminal complaint.

Stamm said in the complaint he wanted the officers to shoot and kill him, a scenario he reportedly described as 'suicide by cop.'

Police shot but did not kill Stamm after he ignored commands to drop the rifle and pointed it at three officers, the complaint said. Those officers fired 12 rounds and Stamm suffered three gunshots wounds as a result, though all three were caused by the same bullet, according to the complaint.

The complaint said Stamm later told an officer he couldn't believe 'Waukesha snipers could not hit him in the head,' because that's what he wanted.

Waukesha Police Chief Russell Jack previously said Stamm was involved in a similar incident in 1997 at the same residence.

Stamm was charged Feb. 5 with five felony counts of intentionally pointing a firearm at law enforcement officers, five misdemeanor counts of intentionally directing a laser pointer at law enforcement officers, felony resisting an officer and causing substantial bodily harm (one officer was injured while trying to avoid being shot by Stamm) and misdemeanor resisting or obstructing an officer.

Stamm could face up to 30 years in prison and $50,000 in fines if convicted on all counts. He is being held at the county jail on a $50,000 cash bond.