STEVENS POINT − A 62-year-old Amherst man was sentenced Feb. 5 to nine months in jail for helping a felon who was involved in a July 2024 standoff with police in the village of Amherst.
In October, a jury found Edward J. Deyo guilty of being a party to the crime of harboring a felon. Portage County Circuit Judge Michael Zell sentenced Deyo Feb. 5. He gave Deyo work release with the jail sentence and said he could be out on electronic monitor, if approved by the jail administrator. Zell also placed Deyo on five years of probation and ordered him to perform 10 hours of community service helping people with alcohol or drug issues.
According to the complaint, on July 23, 2024, Jeffrey Miller, 32, was involved in a high-speed chase on State 113 outside of Baraboo. The chase ended when Miller crashed his vehicle. When deputies approached the vehicle, Miller opened fire on deputies with a rifle. One deputy was hurt in the shooting. Miller fled the scene.
Investigators were able to trace one of Miller’s social media accounts to a home at 450 Mill St. in the village of Amherst. They checked the address and learned the home belonged to Deyo, who lived there with a 44-year-old woman, according to the complaint.
The 44-year-old woman also was charged with being a party to the crime of harboring a felon, but a judge dismissed the charges Aug. 22, 2024, according to online records.
A witness reported to police seeing Miller and another man in a black BMW at a BP station in Coloma. Investigators checked video from the gas station and were able to identify the man with Miller as Deyo, according to the complaint.
Law enforcement officers got a “no knock warrant” for the home and, on the evening of July 25, 2024, multiple agencies got together to serve the warrant, according to the complaint. The officers encircled the home and approached it using an armored vehicle, according to the complaint. They gave orders for the people to leave the house and five people came out. Miller barricaded himself inside the house, according to the complaint.
After a nearly 24-hour standoff, police entered the house on July 26, 2024, and found Miller’s body with a firearm lying nearby. Officers never shot at Miller in the house, according to a release from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Contact Karen Madden kmadden@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Amherst man sentenced for harboring felon involved in 2024 standoff
Reporting by Karen Madden, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
