Madison Area Jail Ministry says its Dane County Jail Tutoring Program uses about 15 trained volunteers to provide weekly, one-on-one tutoring to people held in the county jails. One longtime volunteer in the jail’s math and literacy program was injured in a robbery at the Dane County Public Safety Building on Tuesday, according to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the volunteer as a 92-year-old woman and the suspect as Andrea Smith, 25. Deputies said Smith had been released from jail minutes before the robbery, which was reported around 3:30 p.m. in a restroom at the building, 115 W. Doty St. The victim sustained minor injuries, the office said. The Sheriff’s Office account does not say what, if anything, was taken.
A second encounter later that afternoon
About two hours after the report, the deputy who had interviewed the victim encountered Smith on W. Mifflin Street, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The office said Smith resisted arrest and the deputy used a Taser to subdue her. It also said a bystander, 45-year-old Kerry Schell, struck the deputy with a metal shopping cart while intervening; after Schell did not comply with commands, the deputy used pepper spray.
Both women were taken to a local hospital. Smith was booked back into Dane County Jail and faces charges of strong-armed robbery, battery and resisting an officer, the Sheriff’s Office said. The office said the robbery and battery charges carry an elder-person penalty enhancer. Schell was released and will receive a county ordinance citation, rather than the charges Smith faces.
Reentry resources in the same building
The Public Safety Building also houses the Paul Rusk Resource Desk, which opened in 2023 to connect people leaving custody with practical support. When the desk opened, the Sheriff’s Office said it offered hygiene products and clothing, as well as information about local food pantries and other services. Volunteers were scheduled to staff it on weekdays from 1 to 5 p.m., depending on availability, according to the office’s description of the desk.
The tutoring program and the resource desk are distinct services, but both operate in the broader setting of jail education and support for people returning to the community. Dane County lists the Public Safety Building department offices’ public hours as weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; that listing does not specify volunteer entry or security procedures. The case account does not describe how the victim and Smith came to be in the restroom at the same time.
