Arrest Made by UWPD in Vilas Hall Battery

  • Case number: 19-02308
  • Incident date: December 20, 2019, 9:00 am
  • Incident type: Battery
  • Location/address: Vilas Hall

On Thursday, December 12th, 2019, UWPD officers responded to an injured male outside of Vilas Hall on the UW-Madison Campus. The injured male was transported to a local hospital with significant, but non-life threatening, injuries.  The male has since been released from the hospital.

UWPD sent out a Crime Warning, advising our campus community of the incident and seeking any information the public could provide to assist with the investigation.

During the investigation, UWPD Detectives and Officers learned that the incident was also a robbery. UWPD staff conducted multiple interviews and through the investigation, were able to identify the suspect.

On December 20th, 2019, UWPD Detectives and Officers located, interviewed, and arrested the suspect, Joseph T. Dettweiler, 58, of Madison.

Dettweiler was booked into the Dane County Jail on felony charges of substantial battery, robbery with use of force, and a parole violation.

Dettweiler is not affiliated with UW-Madison.

The investigation is ongoing. No further information is available for release at this time.