Three state troopers give testimony about Daniel Wildman's confession

Did Cresco resident Daniel Wildman willingly give a confession to police when he was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting in Calmar last year?  Wildman faces five criminal charges, including three counts of attempted murder.

On Friday afternoon three State Troopers answered questions from lawyers in a hearing presided over by Judge John Bauercamper.

State Trooper Mike Trimble said Wildman was "calm, collected" when brought to the Winneshiek County Jail after he was captured in a field outside of Ossian.  At that point, police had not linked Wildman to the shooting in Calmar. 

State Trooper Todd Olmstead said Wildman brought up the Calmar shooting "out of the blue" when talking to police, mentioning that the South Winneshiek schools had gone into lockdown.  Olmstead said Wildman also talked about a fire that had taken place in the recent past and seemed to be willing to offer evidence about the arson in exchange for favors from the police.

State Trooper Jeff Driscoll said Wildman told him he had been smoking pot that morning, but Trooper Trimble said Wildman stated to him, "I'm not drunk or impaired."

That question will be a key question in whether Wildman's reported confession will be allowed as evidence in the case--his defense attorney is trying to prove Wildman's use of marijuana and oxicodone meant he could not understand what he was doing.

Wildman's attorney will also use the "defense by intoxication by drugs" strategy as the overall defense in Wildman's upcoming trial, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 22nd.

Judge Bauercamper will finish hearing testimony Thursday on the defense motion to suppress evidence, including Wildman's confession.