Crime & Safety
Sussex Man Accused of Taking Disabled Vehicle
Authorities say suspect took the car after owner left the keys in it after it broke down.
A 37-year-old Sussex man is facing charges for allegedly stealing a vehicle that had broken down on the side of the road in Town of Lisbon.
Michael C. Hockerman was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Thursday with one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent and one count of misdemeanor bail-jumping for taking the car while it was sitting on the shoulder of Lisbon Road near Townline Road. If convicted, he faces up to six years and nine months in prison, and $20,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
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On Wednesday, Hockerman came across a car with its keys in the center console and took it for about a 2-mile drive before it broke down again.
A Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department deputy noticed Hockerman with the vehicle at the side of the road and was talking with him when Hockerman’s father drove up to the scene.
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The dad told the deputy Hockerman has bipolar disorder and ADHD and he believed his son is in a manic state, which led to him taking the car.
The car’s owner told officers it had broken down and he left it there while waiting for a tow truck. He didn’t think anyone would take it because it wouldn’t start.
Hockerman currently has charges pending against him for a 2010 case in which he was charged with third offense operating while intoxicated, carrying a switchblade knife and carrying a concealed weapon.
