Marathon sheriff steps down amid wife’s legal troubles

Former-probation-officer wife accused of stealing prescription meds

WAUSAU, Wis. — The Marathon County sheriff said he plans to retire in the next few weeks.

Sheriff Randy Hoenisch said during a news conference Friday that his decision was based on legal problems surrounding his wife, Kim, a former probation officer who has pleaded no contest to stealing prescription drugs.

Wisconsin prison officials fired her in December, two days before she was formally charged. She was accused of stealing medication from her clients.

Her husband struggled as he talked about his wife’s legal troubles Friday. He said he took her to a hospital for in-patient treatment, and asked the state to investigate so no one could accuse his department of a cover-up.

The 57-year-old sheriff, who has been with the department for four decades, apologized to his staff for the distractions.