Eric Schuppe will not have to spend any time behind bars after being convicted recently for punching his fiancee's teenage son in the face to punctuate an argument with the boy's mother about buying drugs.
Schuppe, 37, of Waukesha was sentenced June 17 in Waukesha County Circuit after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor offenses earlier this month, according to online court records. Judge Michael Aparahamian presided over the hearing.
Aprahamian imposed but stayed a 31-month prison sentence for Schuppe in favor of two years of probation.
As conditions of that probation, Schuppe is required to perform 75 hours of community service, attend domestic violence counseling, maintain absolute sobriety and cannot have violent contact with his fiance or her teenage son, court records show.
Basis for charges
Schuppe was was originally facing four charges — felony physical abuse of a child (intentionally causing bodily harm), disorderly conduct, possession of THC and possession of drug paraphernalia — when police arrested him in late January after his fiancée and her son ran outside their home in the 1600 block of Haymarket Road to get away from him.
A criminal complaint said Schuppe was upset with his fiancée for refusing to drive him to Milwaukee to buy crack the night of Jan. 29 after the two went out to a local bar. That argument escalated inside the couple's shared home — where Schuppe reportedly took out his anger on several household items and was screaming profanities — until Schuppe punched his fiancée's son in the face.
The boy stood up when Schuppe barged into his room, following the boy's mother, and was hit so hard one of his teeth came loose, the complaint said.
Both the boy and his mother reportedly fled the home after Schuppe punched the teenager. According to the complaint, they were in such a hurry that police found them outside the house, in 18-degree weather, without shoes or jackets.
The child abuse and paraphernalia possession charges were dismissed but read into the court record as part of a plea agreement, online records show.