Man charged in hours-long Waukesha County standoff

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WAUKESHA COUNTY (CBS 58) – A man is now facing charges in connection to an hours-long standoff in Waukesha County.

A criminal complaint states Nathan Halfmann is facing several charges including possession of a firearm, operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, failure to comply with officer’s attempts to take a person into custody, pointing a firearm at another and theft.


According to Halfmann's attorney, this was the first time he saw in-person his client since the incident. 

“He's happy he finally gets access to me in person and now he knows what he is facing in respect to the charges," said Russell Jones, Halfmann's attorney. 

During his first court appearance, bail was set at $100,000. 

Court documents show the incident started in Paradise Springs Nature Area when a DNR Warden approached a car Kalin Sunde and Halfmann were sitting in. The vehicle was stolen from Germantown.

The Warden says Sunde was behind the wheel and took off, almost hitting him.

A chase reaching speeds of 80 miles an hour began through Waukesha County, including through a construction area.

Court documents state Halfmann pointed a gun at the Warden and officers. Authorities say at one point, Halfmann fired his gun at the officers.

Stop sticks were eventually used, leading to an hours-long standoff.

Sunde told police after the car came to a stop, Halfmann started to “freak out” and put blankets up in the windows so officers could not see inside. Sunde is accused of lying to officers about having a baby in the car. She says Halfmann was injecting cocaine during the standoff and saying he didn’t want to go back to prison.

Police eventually used gas to force both out and Halfmann was shot by officers.

Sunde ran, climbing a fence and hiding in tall grass.

When a police dog tried to subdue her, she allegedly stabbed the dog with what she said was the underwire to her bra. She was later arrested. She says she doesn’t remember stabbing the dog.

Sunde tells police the van she was driving during the incident belonged to one of her customers. She said the man pays her for sex and he owed $1,000.

“We are going to look at the evidence and then we are going to deal with it from there. I mean at the end of the day he’s presumed innocent, and I hope everyone watching presumes him innocent until we find out what happened," said Jones. 

Halfmann faces more than 20 years in prison. His preliminary hearing is set for August 1. 

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