Hartland man threatened family, urged police to shoot him, complaint says
HARTLAND, Wis. - A 33-year-old Hartland man faces multiple charges tied to a domestic incident at a residence on Jan. 30. The accused is Victor Lucero – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Stalking-use of a dangerous weapon
- Misdemeanor battery
- Criminal damage to property
- Disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon
- Failure to comply with officer's attempt to take person into custody
According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to a residence in the Village of Hartland around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 30. A caller stated her husband, Lucero, had broken into the residence after she changed the locks. The woman indicated the day before, there had been a domestic incident where Lucero "had punched holes in the drywall and also playing with knives in front of her. The defendant had made statements that the police would have to shoot him." When Lucero left, the woman changed the locks on the residence.
The complaint says around 2:30 a.m. when Lucero "broke into the house," the woman and locked herself in a bedroom with her three children who were sleeping. The woman told the police dispatcher that "the defendant has prior military experience and that he usually carries throwing knives on him."
Scene near Hartridge and Imperial in Hartland.
When authorities arrived on the scene, dispatch was still on the phone with the woman. She was asked if she was able to leave the residence with her children. But the woman stated "she as not comfortable leaving as she did not know where the defendant was." The woman gave police permission to enter the residence.
Police tried unsuccessfully to reach Lucero by phone and text. Calls went straight to voicemail.
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A short time later, SWAT was dispatched to the residence -- and shortly after 5 a.m., the team safely evacuated the woman and her children from the home. The complaint says at 5:30 a.m., "a flash band was thrown into the residence without any response. "At 6 a.m., (SWAT) was able to identify the defendant in a bedroom on the second story of the residence. Another flash bang was deployed." Shortly before 7 a.m., police deployed gas into the residents -- and a few moments later, Lucero exited the residence where he was taken into custody.
Lucero was taken back to the police department and placed in a holding cell. The complaint says a detective "observed the defendant to appear very agitated, and he was kicking and thrashing around in the restraint chair. The defendant kept yelling at officers to shoot him."
During an interview with the woman, police say she "stated she was scared that the defendant was going to kill her this morning when he broke into the house and when he stuck the knife into the side of the door." She told police Lucero was a mechanic and had recently disabled her vehicle so it wouldn't start. She also stated Lucero "also disabled her cellphone service...had thrown her keys on the roof and had run his car into her parked vehicle." The victim told police "the defendant had destroyed most of her belongings over the years," the complaint says.
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Lucero made his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Cash bond was set at $75,000. He is due back in court for a hearing on Friday, Feb. 4.
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