On Friday, June 30th, 2023, at approximately 8:30 PM, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office
received a report of a residential break–in. The residence, a single–family home, is located along
County Road F, just north of the city of Hillsboro, in the town of Hillsboro, in Vernon County.
On of my deputies responded immediately. Based on initial reports, the deputy stopped a
vehicle of interest near Mount Tabor, in rural Kendall, WI. The operator was cooperative,
consented to a search of the vehicle with none of the stolen property found.
At approximately 9:00 PM, the deputy arrived at the Burglary scene. Due to the complexity of
the incident, a criminal investigator was also dispatched. The interior of the home that was
burglarized was under renovation and temporarily vacant. It was determined that the
perpetrator or perpetrators forced entry to the home through a window. The victim reported
the home was last known secure at 3:00 PM on Friday.
The victim reported numerous Milwaukee brand power tools, eight firearms, several thousand
rounds of ammunition, and other items, some with sentimental value were missing from the
home. While the investigation continued, the home was secured, and surveillance cameras
were deployed.
On Saturday, July 1st, at approximately 6:45 PM, the victim reported his home was entered a
second time, this time by forced entry through a door. More items were reported missing. The
same deputy sheriff responded and quickly obtained photos of the suspect and a suspect
vehicle.

 


On Monday, July 3rd, at approximately 10:00 AM, my office received a tip about the suspect
vehicle possibly being in the city of Tomah. I personally responded to Tomah and requested
assistance from the Tomah Police Department.
On Monday, at approximately 3:00 PM, the suspect vehicle was located on Edgewood Avenue
in the city of Tomah. Some stolen property was recovered and …
Blaze Wesly Rouse, age 30, of Tomah, WI
… was taken into custody for Possession of Stolen Property. As further information developed,
Rouse was also booked for Burglary. The suspect vehicle was impounded and towed to the
Vernon County Sheriff’s Office Vehicle Impound Facility. Deputies and an investigator with the
Sheriff’s Office worked diligently with Tomah Police throughout the evening and the Milwaukee
brand power tools were received.
The investigation continued throughout Monday night and early Tuesday morning, July 4th, a
search warrant was executed at a residence in the city of Tomah with assistance from the
Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit. The Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit (CTU)
is a Multi–Jurisdictional SWAT Team staffed by members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s
Department, Sparta Police Department, Tomah Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol, and
the Sparta Area Ambulance. The member agencies have entered into an agreement to staff the
team in this manner to allow for the most efficient use of each department’s resources. The
team trains together for 12 hours a month, Agencies will send their assigned members to
specialized trainings throughout the year as needed. The search resulted in the arrest of:
Joseph Daniel Trumble, age 39, of Tomah, WI
Dustin Allen Lee Sprague, age 33, also of Tomah, WI
Both Trumble and Sprague were booked into the Vernon County Detention Center for Burglary.

 


On Wednesday, July 5th, a bail hearing was held in Vernon County Circuit Court. Rouse and
Sprague were held on $5,000.00 cash bonds. Trumble was released on a $3,000.00 Signature
Bond. All three are due back in Vernon County Circuit Court on August 2nd, at 8:30 AM.
The investigation continued throughout the day, July 5th. With the hard work of my criminal
investigator and the Tomah Police Department, the stolen firearms were all recovered by 4:30
PM.
I would like to thank my staff for putting in some long hours for a timely and efficiently solving this
case. I would like to extend a very special thank you to the Tomah Police Department and the
Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit. We could not have done this without all of you.
The estimated value of the stolen property is $11,000.00 of which most has been recovered;
however, the investigation continues. Anyone with ANY information (perhaps you saw this vehicle
associated with suspicious activity) on this case is asked to call 608–637–2123 or your local law
enforcement. You can also submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at www.p3tips.com