Homeowner: Jakubowski found in makeshift campsite on property seemed lost

Gun theft suspect captured in Richland County

READSTOWN, Wis. — Acting on a tip, law enforcement captured fugitive Joseph Jakubowski, who has been the focus of a nationwide manhunt for more than a week.

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office said the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office received a report at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday of a suspicious person on a farmer’s property on Estes Road near Readstown.

Jakubowski’s stepfather, Don McLean, told News 3 Friday morning that he’s relieved and happy that Jakubwoski was found and no one was hurt.

Investigators assigned to the Jakubowski case were sent to the Readstown farm along with tactical support, according to a news release.

The homeowner, Jeff Gorn, told News 3 he didn’t know who Jakubowski was when he spoke with Jakubowki for about an hour Thursday night. Gorn, who says he is a former school superintendent and has a psychology degree, told News 3 he asked Jakubowski to leave, but Jakubowski seemed sad and already had a tarp up. He told Jakubowski he could stay overnight, but that he had to leave in the morning.

Jakubowski didn’t seem violent, but he seemed lost. He said Jakubowski kept telling him “There’s no going back.” He said that’s when he decided to call police.

“I mean, the one thing that he said over and over is ‘No one listens to me.’ It may be that now they will because of all of this,” Gorn said. “He did say, ‘You’re the first person to listen to me.’ He seemed very exhausted after we talked. There was a lot of stuff that came out. I hope that he does get the help that he needs.”

The tipster told authorities that a man matching Jakubowski’s description had made a makeshift camping at that location and refused to leave when he had been asked. Local authorities established a perimeter and tactical support was sent.

“That was kind of one of those little things where you get a tingly feeling. ‘Something is, something is wrong here,'” Gorn said.

Shortly before 6 a.m., tactical officers made contact with the suspicious person at the campsite. The man was taken into custody without incident and identified as Jakubowski.

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office said officials were making arrangements Friday morning to return Jakubowski to Rock County for further investigation and charging. The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office said Friday morning that Jakubowski was taken to the Rock County Jail in Janesville.

Authorities will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in Janesville to provide more information on the investigation and peaceful capture.

Firearms were located in the area Jakubowski was apprehended, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office said. Jakubowski was not at the Rock County Jail in Janesville as of 10:30 a.m., a jail official said.

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