By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
What started Sept. 21 with a missing person report turned into a murder investigation – and then turned into a heated manhunt that spanned two weeks.
The saga reached its conclusion Oct. 12 with the apprehension of Andrew Obregon, the prime suspect in the murder investigation. However, much work remains as the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department moves on with building the court case against Obregon – and trying to bring order back to a department that spent two weeks with just one agenda.
Last week, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said that of the 118 sworn people in his department, all were involved on some level with the case.
And while Obregon may be in custody, that hasn’t stopped Beth from having to deal with the case.
“Every conversation … for the last solid two weeks, which includes the week since we caught him,” Beth said, has revolved around either the Obregon case – or people expressing relief that the chase is over.
More details
As more time passed following Obregon’s apprehension, more details have come to light in regards to his capture.
As Sheriff Beth explained in detail last week:
- A 58-year-old woman – the caregiver for her elderly father – went to a family house to check on it Oct. 13. From what the woman was able to tell investigators, Obregon beat her severely when she wouldn’t hand over the keys to her Chevy Spark.
Beth said a space of time occurred between when the woman (whose name is not being released) was beaten and when she was finally able to call 911. Time also passed between deputies arriving and determining it was Obregon who had beaten her and escaped.
By that point – when Beth first began updating media outlets of the renewed chase Oct. 13 – Obregon was already in Illinois.
- The sheriff’s department quickly discovered that the vehicle had On-Star technology, Beth explained, and contacted the company.
By then, Obregon had turned around and began to head back to Wisconsin. Illinois police were involved with the chase at that point, and were also working to set up a shutdown of the vehicle as well as a planned stopping point for the chase.
The irony of Obregon driving an electric vehicle with a maximum speed of less than 100 miles an hour was not lost on Beth – or his department.
“Of the light part of this entire investigation, that seems to bring a chuckle to our department – and to the public as well,” Beth said.
- While Obregon had a gunshot wound to the arm, it was ultimately two police dogs – one from Illinois, one from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department – that brought down Obregon once the vehicle was slowed to 5 mph by On-Star.
The stop was made just over the boarder, and both dogs were released chase Obregon. While Obregon sustained an unknown number of dog bites, Beth had little sympathy when asked how many.
“Not enough,” Beth said.
Questions remain
While there will certainly be time to compile the case against Obregon – he’s not even scheduled for an extradition hearing until next week – Beth said the department has plenty to keep its members busy. As he pointed out, there was work being done before the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department was virtually hijacked by the Obregon case.
“All of our detectives have a full plate to begin with,” Beth said. “There’s no one that doesn’t have a stack of files.
“All those got pushed to the side,” he added. “It wasn’t threats from Andrew Obregon. It was his behavior.”
Among the duties that no longer need to be performed now that Obregon is in custody:
- Dedicating staff to area schools during student arrival, recess and student departure. Schools in Brighton, Paris and Bristol (which already had a unit assigned there) received the extra attention.
- Deputies are back to transport duties, as well as traffic interdiction routines.
- The threat of high-speed chases has also diminished.
Beth said there are other charges likely pending – both against Obregon and against others. Obregon committed at least two robberies/burglaries, and while his mother was charged for helping him, others may have also aided and abetted.
For now, though, Beth is stressing that what drove Obregon was likely desperation. After a difficult upbringing – Beth said all six of the Obregon children were raised on a farm that was far from prosperous – Obregon likely wasn’t strong enough to pull himself out of the situation like his brothers and sisters did.
“There are some people you see, time and time again, and there’s names you always have to deal with,” the sheriff said. “The Obregon family is one of those that every generation of law enforcement for the sheriff’s department knows.”
From there, Andrew Obregon slipped into a life of drug use. Beth believes that the money Obregon obtained while on the run was used to purchase drugs and remain “high,” likely on his preferred drug, crack cocaine.
And after a certain point, Obregon knew he would never again be free.
“I think Andrew knew the future of his life was going to change,” Beth said. “He knew he would never have the same freedoms he had prior to this.”
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