Here I Come To Save The Day!!!!!!!!!

[Pedro56]

'Now I feel stupid,' says would-be rape rescuer

February 22, 2007
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. -- A man says he broke into an apartment with a cavalry sword because he thought he heard a woman being raped, but the sound actually was from a pornographic movie his upstairs neighbor was watching.

''Now I feel stupid,'' said James Van Iveren, who has been charged in the case. ''This really is nothing, nothing but a mistake.''

According to a criminal complaint, the neighbor told police that Van Iveren pounded on the door and kicked it open without warning Feb. 12, damaging the frame and lock.

Brandished cavalry sword

''Where is she?'' Van Iveren demanded, thrusting the sword at the neighbor, the complaint said. ''Where is she?''

The neighbor told police Van Iveren became increasingly aggressive as he repeated the question, insisting that he had heard a woman being raped. The complaint said that, with the sword pointed at him, the neighbor led Van Iveren throughout the apartment, opening closet doors to prove he was alone.

Van Iveren, 39, of Oconomowoc, was charged with criminal trespass, criminal damage and disorderly conduct, all while using a dangerous weapon, and is due in court March 5. Together, the misdemeanor counts carry a maximum sentence of 33 months in jail.

No phone

Van Iveren said Tuesday that he heard a woman ''screaming for help,'' grabbed the sword, bounded up the stairs, kicked in the apartment door and confronted Bret Stieghorst.

''I intended to hold it behind my back and knock. But I froze and instead, what happened happened,'' he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Van Iveren said he didn't look anywhere in the apartment except the front room, and he never threatened Stieghorst with the sword.

''I had the sword extended. But that was all,'' he said.

Van Iveren, who lives with his mother in the downstairs apartment, said he did not call police when he heard the noises because he does not have a telephone.

AP

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[BEK]

Gosh I wouldnt expect this from a guy who

lives with his mother in the downstairs apartment,

[gozling]

Gosh I wouldnt expect this from a guy who

++++++a biljillion

[keith720]

Did I ever tell you I moved to Wisconsin from Seattle......?

(by the way, Pedro, Do you scan the news searching for things that'll embarrass your Northern neighbors?)