An 18-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of calling the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department on Monday and threatening to “shoot up” the Waukesha County Courthouse, a call that triggered a law-enforcement response to the courthouse campus and led to fresh criminal charges. Prosecutors say he later admitted he made up the threats because he wanted to be arrested.
According to FOX6, the defendant is identified as Camron Gatson Staples and is now charged with one count of making terrorist threats, which is listed in court filings as “public panic or fear,” along with four counts of felony bail jumping. He made his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Tuesday, April 28, where a court commissioner set cash bond at $10,000 and ordered a competency evaluation. Staples is scheduled to return to court on June 5, according to the report.
The criminal complaint, as described by FOX6, states that a clerk who answered the sheriff’s office line told investigators the caller said he would “shoot up the courthouse” and warned staff, “I ain’t playin.’” The caller identified himself as Camron Gatson Staples, claimed he had purchased a gun, and said he would come to the courthouse if law enforcement did not show up. A detective later quoted Staples as saying he made the threats because he wanted to go to jail. The complaint also notes the call came from a landline at a Milwaukee group home, where staff told investigators the defendant did not have access to firearms.
Earlier lockdown in December
This is not the first time Staples has been linked to threats involving the Waukesha justice complex. He was previously charged in connection with a Dec. 26 call that prompted the Waukesha County Justice Center to go into lockdown, according to CBS58. That earlier incident also led investigators to his Milwaukee address and resulted in criminal counts related to making threats.
What the charges mean
Under Wisconsin’s terrorist-threat statute, making a threat intended to cause public panic or to interrupt government operations is a felony. The law is codified at § 947.019, which covers threats meant to cause evacuation, public panic or interruption of government services, according to Justia. Separate counts for felony bail jumping fall under § 946.49 and apply when someone already released on bond is accused of committing a new offense; these counts can carry felony penalties, per the Wisconsin State Law Library.
Court security and next steps
The Waukesha County courthouse campus uses controlled-access screening at its main entrance, and county materials describe heightened screening and security procedures for visitors to the complex at 515 W. Moreland Blvd. The sheriff’s office reports that deputies were dispatched after the Monday call, and Staples remains in custody while the court orders a competency evaluation and keeps further proceedings on the calendar for June 5. Prosecutors and court officials will decide whether the competency findings affect the schedule or the way the case is handled going forward.
