Brian Flatoff, a man from northeastern Wisconsin who represented himself on a murder charge stemming from a hostage situation gone wrong, is being sentenced today.
Courtroom observers might recall that Flatoff’s pro se representation began with the defendant introducing his own case in an unusual fashion. Law&Crime‘s Aaron Keller noted at the time, “[Flatoff’s] rambling opening statement….pointed the finger at police corruption at local, state, and federal levels and suggested police both failed to turn over evidence and edited the evidence against him.”
Flatoff faced a total of sixteen charges related to the hostage-taking situation and murder. Aside from the obvious, those charges also included false imprisonment, failure to comply with an officer, felony firearms possession, bail jumping and recklessly endangering safety.
The underlying incident is based on Flatoff appearing at a motorcycle shop on December 5, 2015. There, he is said to have fired at least one shot inside before he started taking hostages. Eventually 911 was called. Once officers arrived on the scene and determined the severity of the threat, they entered through the shop’s back door.
In the ensuing commotion and confusion, one of the hostages made a run for it–with a weapon of his own. As the hostage left the building, officers shot and killed him.
After roughly two hours of deliberations, Flatoff was found guilty of all 16 counts. Watch his sentencing hearing above.
