Wife of former Twin Lakes police captain, facing drug charges, pleads not guilty

Cheryl Linn



KENOSHA COUNTY -- Cheryl Linn, 49, the wife of former Twin Lakes Police Captain Dennis Linn, 47, was in court Wednesday, April 3 for her arraignment -- where she pleaded not guilty.

A status conference was set for May 16.

Cheryl Linn faces three charges:


    Dennis Linn



    Dennis Linn faces four charges:


      His arraignment was scheduled for May 2.

      He voluntarily resigned from the Twin Lakes Police Department effective March 5, after an investigation was launched into prescription medication taken from the department. He had worked for the department since 2002.

      According to the criminal complaint, a detective stated on Feb. 11 Linn “assisted the detective with packaging prescription medication” for disposal. The detective said while he and Linn “were walking to the evidence room, the defendant told the detective that the defendant’s wife, Cheryl Linn (also charged), was recently taken off of her pain medication and her doctor would not prescribe her more.”

      After consulting with the police chief, the complaint says a “camera was placed in the evidence room with a view of the garbage cans.” The detective stated after returning the next day, the pills were missing from the garbage can.The complaint indicates that Monday was the “first time that the defendant had offered to help with packaging the prescription medication.” The detective noted that while they were packaging the medication, Linn “began to look at and read the different prescription pill bottles. The detective stated that, during the process of packaging, Linn “carried a pile of plastic bags to a garbage can, and when the defendant dropped the bags in the garbage can, the detective heard what sounded like pills rattling.” After Linn left the room, the detective searched the inside of the garbage can and “observed a prescription pill bottle labeled ‘Oxycodone’ that was approximately half filled with pills.” The detective took photographs of the pill bottle and returned it to the garbage can.

      According to the criminal complaint, a review of the surveillance video shows Linn sorting through the garbage cans around 11:20 p.m. At some point, Linn allegedly placed an item from the garbage can into his pants pocket. The complaint says “the defendant also removed what appeared to be a brown paper bag from the trash can.” The video showed Linn leave the evidence room just before 11:30 p.m.

      A search warrant was executed at the Linn residence in the Village of Bloomfield in Walworth County. Investigators found “empty prescription bottles identifying prescriptions belonging to people other than Dennis Linn and Cheryl Linn and providing different addresses for the people prescribed the medication. Investigators also found “marijuana, a metal pipe containing burnt marijuana residue, and a plastic bag containing marijuana.”

      Investigators spoke with the people identified on the prescription bottles that they “indicated they had dropped the pill bottles off at the Twin Lakes Police Department so that the medication could be properly destroyed.”