Krista Butterbach, accused of instigating a 90-minute standoff with police when she repeatedly refused to exit her apartment, has decided not to fight the charges levied against her.
Butterbach, 35, of Waukesha waived her preliminary hearing and pleaded guilty on Thursday, March 12, to one count of failure to comply with an officer's attempt to take her into custody; a second charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct was dismissed but read into the record.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 15.
Butterbach was initially charged on March 5, one day after the standoff occurred. The maximum penalty for someone convicted of Butterbach's alleged crime is 31/2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint, at about 10 a.m. on March 4, Butterbach locked herself and her 3-year-old child in her apartment and threatened to open fire on police officers who were trying to arrest her on several outstanding warrants.
Officers ordered Butterbach numerous times to come out of the apartment, but received no response, the complaint said.
Police eventually decided to forcibly enter the apartment, but when they heard a child crying on the other side of a locked bedroom door — where they believed Butterbach was hiding — they changed tactics to prevent any possible harm to the child. They instead attempted to unscrew the doorknob to gain access, according to the complaint.
While officers were trying to unlock the door, Butterbach reportedly told them that she had a gun and repeatedly threatened to shoot the officers, and at one point allegedly tried to bait the officers to "come in and get (her)."
The complaint said that Butterbach surrendered to police after the standoff had lasted more than 90 minutes. As she was exiting the apartment with her child in tow, she reached for her waistband, which prompted officers to think she might be reaching for a weapon, and was shot in the leg with a "less than lethal" beanbag round.
A preliminary breath test administered on scene indicated that Butterbach had a blood-alcohol content of 0.14.
Online court records indicate Butterbach is facing a host of additional charges — for theft of moveable property, drug possession and intoxicated driving — in two unrelated cases, and is being held at the Waukesha County jail on a $20,000 bail bond.