Defense rests case in homicide trial

WISCONSIN RAPIDS -- After two days of witnesses, the attorneys for a 55-year-old man on trial for homicide rested their case.

Joseph B. Reinwand, 55, of Wisconsin Rapids is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the 2008 shooting death of Dale R. Meister, 35, Wisconsin Rapids.

After Reinwand decided Wednesday not to take the stand in his own defense, his attorneys, David Dickmann and Troy Nielsen, ended their case.

Wood County Circuit Judge Greg Potter instructed the jury to pack a bag and bring it with them to the Wood County Courthouse on Thursday. Once Potter reads the jury instructions and the attorneys for both sides give what is expected to be lengthy closing arguments, the case will be in the hands of the jury. At that point, the jury will stay sequestered until it reaches a decision, Potter said.

Defendant's sister takes stand

Reinwand's sister, Darlene Reinwand-Lemay, took the stand Wednesday morning. Reinwand-Lemay was present when Meister and Reinwand's daughter got into a dispute regarding visitation of the child Reinwand's daughter and Meister shared.

Reinwand-Lemay said she talked with Meister while Reinwand's daughter got her three children out of Meister's vehicle and into her own vehicle.

Reinwand's daughter and Meister were involved in a custody dispute over the child they shared, according to court documents. Prior to his death, Meister had told several friends that, if he was found dead, Reinwand did it.

Reinwand-Lemay also said she was present during a hearing in front of a court commissioner regarding a restraining order Reinwand's daughter tried to get against Meister. The court commissioner denied the restraining order.

Defense Attorney Troy Nielsen showed Reinwand-Lemay a letter she had written to Reinwand. In the letter, Reinwand-Lemay said the reason she couldn't find Ed Lanphear in the prison system was because they were spelling his last name wrong. Lanphear was a witness in the case against Reinwand.

Reinwand-Lemay said she just tried to find Lanphear because he had been in the same cell block in the Wood County Jail. She said it was something to do and didn't mean anything.

Reinwand-Lemay denied putting pressure on Reinwand's daughter after Reinwand's daughter turned over to authorities a letter Reinwand wrote to his granddaughter. Reinwand-Lemay also denied putting pressure on her nephew's girlfriend who also spoke with police. Both women previously testified to being pressured by Reinwand-Lemay for cooperating with authorities.

When Attorney Vincent Biskupic, the special prosecutor handling the case, questioned Reinwand-Lemay, he showed her a transcript of a phone call she had with Reinwand a few weeks before she sent the letter. The two were discussing how to spell Lanphear's name.

Neighbor sees Meister

Meister's neighbor, Christian Trejo, said he saw Meister talking to another man in Meister's driveway on the Thursday before friends found Meister's body on Tuesday, March 4, 2008.

Trejo said he saw Meister talking to a chunky man with white hair and a full beard standing in Meister's driveway. Trejo said the two men were talking loudly, but Trejo didn't hear any of what was said.

Trejo also said the man with Meister had a silver or gray Dodge Ram with four doors. Reinwand drives a truck with a matching description.

When shown a photo of the back of Reinwand's pickup, Trejo said the taillights were different. The taillights on Reinwand's truck are flush with the truck and have rectangular covers. Trejo said the lights on the truck he saw were round and protruded from the pickup.

When Biskupic showed Trejo the police report of his initial contact with authorities, the report did not contain the information that the man talking to Meister had white hair and it didn't mention the taillights being different.

Bob Amacher, a salesman with Brickner's of Wausau, testified that the Dodge Ram had the taillights Trejo described in 2007 and 2008.

Reinwand's daughter and Meister were involved in a custody dispute over the child they shared, according to court documents. Prior to his death, Meister had told several friends that, if he was found dead, Reinwand did it.

Officers take stand

The defense called retired Wisconsin Rapids Police Detective-Sgt. Phyllis Wesener to the stand. Nielsen had her read portions of an interview she did with Reinwand at the Wood County Jail.

In the portion read, Reinwand gave a definite "no" when asked about shooting Meister. Previously, the prosecution played sections of interview when Reinwand said he couldn't remember, but he admitted the evidence seemed to show he did it.

Nielsen also pointed out a portion of the interview when Reinwand said he was "10 questions behind" Wesener in the interview.

Nielsen showed another portion of the interview where Reinwand said he did not kill Meister. Nielsen pointed out that these were situations where detectives asked Reinwand a direct question and didn't have him answering questions on hypothetical situations.

When Biskupic questioned Wesener, he asked when Reinwand began saying he couldn't remember things. Wesener said Reinwand didn't start having problems with his memory until about halfway through the four-hour interview when detectives started confronting him with evidence.

Dickmann went over a cellphone statement with retired Detective-Sgt. Tad Wetterau. Previously, the prosecution had shown dozens of calls between Meister and Reinwand on the statement.

The prosecution previously showed that phone calls between Meister and Reinwand abruptly ended on Feb. 25, 2008, about a week before Meister was found dead. On Wednesday, Dickmann pointed out many other gaps in the phone record when no calls were made.

Wisconsin Rapids Police Detective-Lt. Julie Buerger answered questions Wednesday about a Jennings .22-caliber pistol and box authorities took from the home of Reinwand-Lemay and her husband, Dennis Lemay. Nielsen questioned how authorities followed up on the serial numbers on the gun and box it was in, because the serial numbers were one off.

Buerger said they checked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. They were able to trace the serial numbers to Dennis Lemay.

Buerger said the guns did not match the type that killed Meister because they had too many groves on the inside of the barrel. The small handgun that killed Meister was a Jennings made between 1983 and 1985.