DOC alerts staff about convict contacting workers
‘No crime committed,’ says Manitowoc police captain
A recently released convicted killer went to the homes of current and former correctional workers in Wisconsin, but it’s unclear if his actions, while unsettling to those involved, were illegal.
Arthur Moore, convicted of a 1997 fatal stabbing in Milwaukee, tried to contact a former correctional worker and a current employee of the Wisconsin Resource Center in Oshkosh, which provides mental health services to inmates, according to a memo sent to staffers last week.
In both cases, the people involved were able to persuade Moore to leave and contacted law enforcement, wrote Jim Schwochert, administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Division of Adult Institutions.
“Our desire is not to create an atmosphere of fear; we want to ensure that you are vigilant of your surroundings and take proactive steps for your safety,” he wrote.
Moore, 46, was released Dec. 22 on what’s known as a maximum discharge, meaning he completed his sentence and had no time remaining for community supervision, Tristan Cook, the agency’s spokesman, said in an email.
When asked if Moore had direct contact or threatened either individual during his time in custody, Cook did not answer and instead referred those questions to the outside agencies investigating. Depending on the circumstances, those individuals could make the case for a restraining order, but it’s unclear if either has done so.
In his memo, Schwochert said the agency is working closely with law enforcement to ensure Moore is “held accountable for his behavior.”
The current corrections employee in Oshkosh called police and requested extra checks after a former inmate showed up to her house about 12:30 p.m. Jan. 27. She did not name the inmate and said he left when she told him to do so, Sgt. Todd Wrage said in an email.
She said he did not do or say anything threatening, Wrage said. Oshkosh police had trouble finding reports Monday related to Moore because he was not named in the incident but found the information after getting an incident date on Tuesday.
In Manitowoc, police said Moore knocked on the door of a former corrections worker and left when asked.
“There was no crime committed,” Manitowoc Police Capt. Jason Freiboth said.
Police checked to see if Moore had any open warrants — he didn’t — and documented the incident, he said.
Moore was convicted of killing 47-year-old Charles Groves of Rockford, Ill., near a pay phone at N. 27th St. and W. Highland Blvd. in December 1997.
He told police that “fate” brought him to the intersection and “led him to kill a man he didn’t know, and that it now was in the hands of God to judge him,” according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article citing the criminal complaint.
Moore also told police he could not remember stabbing Groves but claimed he must have done so in self-defense.