Jakubowski gets 14 years in thefts of firearms from gun shop
MADISON – A Wisconsin man who stole a cache of firearms from a gun shop and sent a rambling anti-government manifesto to President Donald Trump before going on the run was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Wednesday, after a profanity-laced back-and-forth with the judge where he asked to either be set free or killed.
Joseph Jakubowski, who was convicted in September on two weapons-related charges, told the judge he didn’t follow any rules or laws and had no intention of letting authorities know where to find 14 weapons, including a machine gun, that are still missing.
“Let me out, I’d do it again because I don’t respect lies,” Jakubowski told the judge as he sat next to his attorney at the sentencing hearing. “I don’t care about your damn laws.”
U.S. District Judge William Conley said the severity of the crime, which put southeastern Wisconsin on edge during a 10-day manhunt, combined with Jakubowski’s unwillingness to show remorse and the ongoing threat the missing weapons pose led to the 14-year prison sentence. Jakubowski faced up to 20 years behind bars.
Scott Kuhl, owner of Armageddon Supplies, the Janesville shop that Jakubowski robbed, told the court that he hoped the missing weapons would be returned.
“You ain’t gettin ’em,” Jakubowski said. “That’s between me and you, me and government.”