Doppsmith Convicted After ‘Depositing’ Dead Cat
By Brandi Makuski
A Stevens Point man was convicted this week on charges involving a bizarre deposit he made at a downtown bank — the body of a dead cat.
Justin Doppsmith, 37, was arrested for the incident on June 5, and only after a sidewalk standoff with police. He was convicted after pleaded no contest to one count each of felony bail-jumping and discharging bodily fluids at a public safety worker.
Charges of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer were dismissed as part of a plea deal with Portage Co. District Attorney Louis Molepske, but will be read in for Doppsmith’s sentencing.
According to the criminal complaint, Doppsmith stuffed a loaf of bread and a dollar bill wrapped around a rock — along with the carcass — into the overnight deposit box at about 8:20 AM.
The cat “had been dead for some time”, according to the complaint. It was not clear how Doppsmith came into possession of the carcass or how the cat died.
The teller who unloaded the night depository was reportedly “very disturbed” by the incident, and told police Doppsmith had placed unusual items in the night deposit box before, which was confirmed by the bank’s video surveillance.
Police located Doppsmith later that day as he was walking near Briggs and Rogers streets. An officer approached Doppsmith to attempt asking about his alleged actions at the bank, but Doppsmith walked away from the officer, and continued walking away after he was ordered to stop.
Doppsmith stopped only after the officer grabbed his backpack, then explained to the officer he was “trying to cleanse the bank from fraud” by placing the items in the depository. He then claimed the officer had no authority over the situation because “he was not a game warden”.
He then became agitated and began to yell; the officer’s repeated attempts to calm Doppsmith were reportedly unsuccessful. Doppsmith then took a fighting stance and glanced up at the officer in a threatening manner, at which point the officer told Doppsmith he was being placed under arrest for resisting an officer.
Doppsmith continued to resist, backing away from the officer and yelling loudly. He then removed his backpack and charged the officer with his fists clenched. He ignored the officer’s taser warnings and was eventually tased.
But the taser proved ineffective on Doppsmith, so the officer deployed his pepper spray, which was also ineffective, according to the complaint. Doppsmith then ran away from the officer, but eventually fell into a “crouched position”, when the officer was finally able to secure him with handcuffs.
Doppsmith also spat on the officer during the encounter, according to the complaint. EMS was called to the scene, and Doppsmith was medically cleared for transport to the police station.
He returns to court for sentencing on Nov. 10.