Courts

La Crosse man refuses to leave jail cell, instead of appearing in court for attempted murder; already declared competent for trial

Published

2 hours ago

September 30, 2024

A suspect in an attempted murder in La Crosse is continuing to refuse to leave his jail cell to appear in court.

For the second time in the last month, Freeman Cole did not leave jail Monday for an evidence hearing. He also asked to change attorneys.

Judge Gloria Doyle denied Cole’s request. The 44-year-old is charged with six criminal counts, for allegedly attacking a woman at a La Crosse storage unit last October, before he was discovered and ran from the scene.

Cole was eventually arrested in Florida a few weeks after the attack, and brought back to Wisconsin.

The judge turned down Cole’s attempt to get his defense attorneys withdrawn from the case.

Doyle said in court that Cole was found competent for trial, but apparently is “trying to play the system.”

A video link to the jail may be considered for Cole’s Oct 7 hearing.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.