New attorney request denied for alleged hostage taker

Brian Flatoff



OSHKOSH — A judge in Winnebago County has rejected a request for a new attorney from a man accused of taking hostages at a Neenah motorcycle shop.

Brian Flatoff wrote a letter to Judge John Jorgensen recently asking that his public defender be replaced because she didn't seem to have time for his case and is encouraging him to take a plea agreement. WLUK-TV reports Jorgensen has denied his request to assign a fourth attorney to his case.

Flatoff faces a long list of felony charges for the incident last December at Eagle Nation Cycles. State prosecutors declined to issue any charges against two officers who fatally shot a hostage as he tried to flee. The officers believed hostage Michael Funk was a threat because they had come under fire moments earlier while trying to storm the shop.