Melissa Graham
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Cop killer Alan Randall, 54, was not in court on Tuesday.
His appearance was waived for the status conference where motions for two psychological reports were confirmed for his jury trial on Jan. 22.
Randall was charged in 1976 with intentional homicide after allegedly killing his neighbor, Ronald Hoeft, and two Summit police officers, Robert Atkins and Wayne Olson. He was never convicted of Hoeft’s murder but pleaded guilty by reason of insanity in 1977 to the two police killings, four burglaries and a car theft.
Alan A. Randall is seeking to be released from Mendota Mental Health Institution, where he has lived since 2005. This is the fifth time Randall has appealed since his conviction in 1975.
He had unsuccessfully sought conditional releases in 1990, 1991 and 1995. He again sought to appeal in 2008, which was rejected by Judge Lee S. Dreyfus after trial. He filed his most latest appeal, a petition for re-examination, in September of this year.
History in mental institutions He was sent to Central State Hospital in 1977 and transferred to Winnebago Mental Health Institution in 1981. At that time, the mental illness diagnosis was dropped, and he was granted off-grounds, unescorted privileges.
He earned credits at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, worked full time, had access to a bank account with $100,000 in it, owned a home and a had two cars. He falsified time-sheets, saying he was working at the Winnebago greenhouse when he was not, and was caught having lunch with a co-worker in Appleton without staff permission, and his privileges were revoked.
He was transferred to the Mendota Mental Health Institution in 2005 in Madison, where he currently lives.
When Randall’s 2009 appeal was denied, the judge described him as “secretive, devious” and pointed to his behavior at the Winnebago facility and the freedoms that he was allowed. Regardless, Randall petitioned for release again on Sept. 12, 2012. In court on Sept. 20, mental examinations had been ordered by Judge Donald J. Hassin Jr. Two psychological experts will submit their reports at the trial in January. The state experts, Dr. Frederick Fosdal and Dr. Ralph Baker, have examined Randall multiple times in the past.
“We will not have any private doctor to do testimony,” Assistant District Attorney Stephen Centinario said at Tuesday’s status hearing. Any future motions are to be filed before Dec. 15; a motion hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 9, 2013. His trial will still begin as planned, on Jan. 22.
Newest petition This is the fifth time Randall has appealed since his conviction in 1975. He had unsuccessfully sought conditional releases in 1990, 1991 and 1995. He again sought to appeal in 2008, which was rejected by Judge Lee S. Dreyfus after trial. He filed his most latest appeal, a petition for re-examination, in September of this year.
The newest petition that seeks Randall’s release says that his history and present status demonstrate that he is not currently mentally ill and is not a danger to the community. It states that since 1980, his records have not contained a diagnosis for any psychiatric illness, and a diagnosis of personality disorder was dropped in 1989. It adds that in 1992, his treatment team at Winnebago determined that he no longer needed to see his psychiatrist. The petition also says that Randall currently works off the grounds of Mendota Mental Health Institution and that he travels unsupervised to and from work. “He has done this for years without incident,” it states. “As has been the case for over 30 years, Randall has no mental health diagnosis. He is not receiving any medication or treatment for a mental illness or disorder. There is no doctor who will provide an opinion that he suffers from a mental disease or defect,” the petition states. During the last trial, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel said that the legal question is whether Alan Randall can be safely released. During the trial, he outlined Randall’s history in court and described him as solitary, cold, detached and guarded.
Charges On Nov. 24, 1974, Randall first burglarized the Summit Police Department when it was left unattended. He also broke into a sporting goods store in Oconomowoc where he took weapons and ammunition, hiding them in the woods near the Police Department.
On Jan. 2, 1975, he broke the door knob at the Police Department, smashed out a squad window and stole more items.
Randall stole his neighbor’s station wagon Jan. 11, and Hoeft chased after his stolen car in his pickup truck. He was shot through the station wagon window by five rounds from Randall’s stolen police service revolver as he approached the car, according to police.
On Jan. 26, Randall set out to get his cache of weapons from the woods. Randall began firing when officers Atkins and Olson drove up to the department. Using a high-powered rifle, Randall shot Olson in the neck. He fired again but missed and Atkins got out of the squad, only to be shot three times in the back. Randall then approached Atkins, saw he was still moving and shot him in the head.
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