A 40-year-old homeless man was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday, with an additional six years of extended supervision, for burglarizing and robbing a female student in UW-Madison's Witte Residence Hall last spring.
According to an interview with the victim's roommate following the incident, Brian Buhler entered the open dorm room of the two female students in early Feb. 6, 2007. Buhler locked the door behind him and grabbed one resident by the neck asking for money.
After the victim's roommate gave him money, Buhler escaped, launching a campus-wide search for the attacker and raising numerous questions about how he got into the locked building.
Buhler turned himself in to the Dane County Jail two days later.
Assistant District Attorney Ann Sayles said Buhler was convicted of burglary and for committing battery, and noted that he was on parole at the time of the incident.
In December 2006, Sayles said Buhler stole and forged checks from a friend he was staying with. With both incidents combined, Buhler was sentenced to 10 years of confinement and nine years of extended supervision.
Buhler was also convicted in 1992 for burglary and theft in Racine County, according to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access records.
