SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A judge on Wednesday formally forfeited a $3,000 cash bond once posted by campground owner Ann Retzlaff, who has failed to show for court hearings — and remains at large and the subject of an arrest warrant.
Police said they tried to pull Retzlaff over for failure to stop at a traffic light on May 15, but she did not pull over. She was eventually arrested and charged with four counts, including recklessly endangering safety.
Retzlaff’s court appearance on Oct. 5 was postponed because she said she was ill. It was rescheduled for Oct. 26, but she did not show again, so an arrest warrant was issued. After her eventual arrest on that, Retzlaff posted a $3,000 cash bond and was released from jail with instructions to appear in court Nov. 23. Once again, she did not show, so Judge William Kussel again ordered her arrest — this time with the condition she would not be able to post bond would need to appear before a judge before she could be released.
At the Nov. 23 hearing, Judge Kussel said the $3,000 would be forfeited — meaning Retzlaff would lose the money. In court Wednesday, that ruling was formalized, and the county will get the money.
Retzlaff was not in court Wednesday.
The warrant for her arrest remains active. The Shawano County Jail confirmed Wednesday Retzlaff is not in custody.
Retzlaff owns Annie’s Campground, near Gresham, in Shawano County, Wisconsin.
According to the criminal complaint, police tried to pull Retzlaff over for failure to stop at a traffic light on May 15, but she did not pull over. Eventually, traffic stop spikes were deployed, flattening her tires, and the vehicle stopped. An officer advised her to get out of the vehicle.
“She stated she did not do anything wrong, and she was being wrongfully stopped. She stated she is a sovereign citizen and will not step out of the vehicle,” the complaint states.
A deputy tried to pry a vehicle door open when Retzlaff put the vehicle in gear to drive away. Two deputies had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by the vehicle, it states.
The vehicle was stopped a second time. A deputy “broke the driver window with his baton. The door was then opened, and Ann was taken from the vehicle and escorted to the ground. She was secured in handcuffs,” the complaint states.
Retzlaff told police she was rescuing an employee from sex traffickers, which is why she didn’t stop for police, and maintained she didn’t do anything wrong.
Retzlaff has been in trouble with the law before. Last year, she was ticketed for unlawful use of a telephone for posing as a Shawano County sheriff’s deputy. Her campground also came under fire last year for ignoring protocols to slow the spread of COVID-19.
For her November court hearing, Retzlaff sent multiple messages to the court, arguing she feared appearing in court to the COVID-19 pandemic, and asserting the court did not have jurisdiction over her. Judge Kussel rejected the arguments as improperly filed, and noting they did not cite any proper legal authority.
