SHAWANO, WI- On October 4, Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Mark Moran denied a request to reduce the cash bond for Ann Retzlaff, who is facing a range of felony and misdemeanor charges dating back to 2021. Retzlaff’s defense attorney, Michael Hughes, argued that his client, who had already paid significant bonds for previous arrests, should have most of her $57,000 bond reduced to $10,000 to afford her defense. Hughes claimed Retzlaff was indigent and highlighted her prior bond payments.

However, Moran rejected the request, citing Retzlaff’s history of failing to appear in court despite previous bond reductions. Moran had previously reduced a $25,000 cash bond to $15,000 and allowed Retzlaff to take a holiday trip out of state, resulting in her becoming a wanted fugitive for six months after missing a court hearing in January 2023.

Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney Greg Parker argued that the bond should remain unchanged due to Retzlaff’s repeated failure to appear in court and her involvement in more violations of the law upon release.

Retzlaff faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including fleeing and eluding officers, recklessly endangering safety, resisting or obstructing an officer, and bail jumping. Her legal troubles have mounted as she has consistently failed to show up for court appearances.

During the recent hearing, Hughes also attempted to have the bail jumping charges filed in late 2022 dismissed, arguing that the evidence amounted to hearsay and lacked corroboration. However, Parker countered that the preliminary hearing’s purpose was not to determine witness credibility but to decide if there was enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Judge Moran concurred, ruling that Retzlaff should be bound over for trial based on testimony suggesting that she left the state in December 2022, traveling to Holland, Michigan.

In addition to her Shawano County charges, Retzlaff faces multiple counts of criminal slander of title and felony bail jumping charges in Sauk County for allegedly filing false liens against individuals associated with Bank First and the new owner of Annie’s Campground, now known as On the Rocks Family Kampground.