Brian Buhler, 39, was formally charged in Dane County Circuit Court on 11 counts Tuesday afternoon after turning himself into the Dane County Jail, four of which were for the robbery of two Witte Hall students Feb. 6.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who is also an assistant Dane County district attorney, Buhler received charges of burglary, robbery with threat of force, battery and intimidation of a victim for the Witte Hall incident.
Verveer said Buhler was also charged on seven other counts for unrelated incidents, including violating parole after serving time in prison for escaping from Racine County Jail, and multiple felony charges for theft and forgery.
The Dane County Circuit Court posted Buhler's bail at $5,000 per count, or $55,000 total, Verveer said.
Tying all of these crimes together, Verveer said, was that Buhler is a ""self-confessed drug addict and alcoholic and was willing to commit these crimes to feed his desperate addictions.""
According to Verveer's court statement, Buhler entered a Witte Hall 7A room of two UW-Madison freshmen around 11:40 p.m. Feb. 6 and grabbed one around the neck, brandishing an empty bottle of tequila and demanding money.
Verveer said Buhler confessed these actions in court, and said he had been drinking and smoking crack cocaine throughout the day Feb. 6.
According to Verveer, Buhler faces tremendous potential of receiving additional prison time because of his multiple crimes. If convicted of burglary, Buhler would face 15 years in prison. If also convicted of robbery with threat of force, he would receive an additional 15 years. Conviction of any of the additional crimes would probably further his prison sentence, according to Verveer.
Buhler's preliminary hearing for the unrelated crimes will be next week, Verveer said.
