Timothy Olson, Jr. will spend the next 33 years behind bars for kidnapping a 79-year-old Franklin woman at gunpoint.
Circuit Court Judge Kristy Yang issued the sentence for Olson on March 17.
A Milwaukee County jury found the Racine man guilty on March 14 on five counts: felony kidnapping, two felony charges of burglary, one felony charge of using personal identifying information and one charge of misdemeanor obstruction.
Olson, who acted as his own attorney at trial, maintained his innocence and said he plans to appeal the sentence.
It took a while for Yang to hand down her decision, as Olson disrupted the hearing, just as he did during his trial a week ago.
The judge removed Olson from the courtroom three times for violating the court’s rules of decorum; he repeatedly interrupted the judge as she tried to get the hearing underway.
Olson accused Yang and Assistant District Attorney Sara Sadowski of violating his rights and of not allowing him to present evidence that he claimed would have exonerated him.
He was made to watch the hearing on Zoom in another room.
“The public doesn’t need to be protected from me. I’m innocent,” Olson said when it was his time to speak.
Olson was arrested Nov. 29, 2022, several days after police found a woman near South 108th Street and West Beloit Road, frantically waving her hands inside a white Honda Accord with its flashers on.
She told the officers she had been abducted at gunpoint, and that she managed to escape. She told police a man took her phone and credit cards.
At the time of his arrest, Olson was a person of interest in two separate deaths, burglaries and had a warrant from the Mount Pleasant Police Department for five felony counts of stealing personal IDs and using them for financial gain.
Racine Police had issued warnings about Olson, saying he was linked to three women who fell unconscious in his presence at a bar.
Olson has two cases against him pending in Racine County, including one that was filed in 2023, accusing him of second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim.
Olson has 1,204 days of custody credit that can be applied to his sentence. He has 20 days to appeal the sentence.
This story will be updated. Stay with jsonline.com.
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Racine man sentenced to 33 years for kidnapping a 79-year-old woman
Reporting by Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
