The issue of low bond amounts set for felons that commit additional crimes is now a factor in the race for Wisconsin Attorney General. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Ruben Houston the Third–the shooter that killed Appleton firefighter Mitch Lundgaard near the downtown transit center in May of 2019–had been released on a 500-dollar bond for a counterfeit narcotic possession charge ten days earlier in Fond du Lac County Court. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney is a Republican candidate for Attorney General this fall. Houston had nine previous felony convictions on his record at the time of that arrest. Court records reveal that the assistant district attorney handling the case did not realize that Houston had legally added an “o” to his last name eight years earlier, so a records check did not reveal his prior convictions. The issue of low bond gained statewide notoriety in the wake of the Waukesha Christmas parade attack–where the suspect was out on a thousand dollar bond for an alleged vehicle attack on his girlfriend.
