Update: Sturtevant Village Board Meeting Will Proceed Despite President's Arrest

Update, 4:30 pm, Feb. 6: Village of Sturtevant Clerk/Deputy Treasurer Mary Cole said the regularly scheduled Village Board meeting on Tues., Feb. 7, will proceed despite Sturtevant Village President Steve Jansen's arrest for stalking.

"I have not amended the agenda," she said.

Trustees will appoint an acting president just for the meeting, Cole added. From there, however, she is not sure how the village will proceed.

"We're all kind of in shock right now," she said. "I'm sure we'll have some kind of statement but for now, there haven't been any conversations on what we'll do after tomorrow night."

Lt. Scott Geyer of the Mount Pleasant Police Department confirmed that officers received a call from the female victim before noon on Sun., Feb. 5, to report that Jansen was still trying to contact her despite being told on numerous occasions to stop.

"It became apparent during the course of our investigation that this was a case of stalking," Geyer said. "Our investigators went to Mr. Jansen's home and took him into custody without incident."

The MPPD forwarded the case to the Racine County District Attorney. Jansen is expected to hear the formal charge(s) against him during his initial appearance on Tues., Feb. 7 before Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch.

Update, 2 pm Feb. 6: Sturtevant Village President Steve Jansen's name was not on the list of initial appearances today, Feb. 6. He is expected to hear formal charges against him at 1:30 pm on Tues., Feb. 7, before Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch.

According to the Racine County Jail, Jansen remains in custody on a $5,000 cash bond. He is expected to be charged with one felony count of stalking.

Update, 11:30 am Feb. 6: Captain Brian Smith of the Mount Pleasant Police Department has told Patch that the case against Sturtevant Village President Steve Jansen may have started in October 2011.

Police are going to issue a written statement about Jansen's arrest for allegedly stalking a former girlfriend, but for now, Smith said his officers have had contact with Jansen on more than one occassion for reportedly harrassing a woman with whom he had a relationship.

"According to our reports, the female party was no longer interested in continuing a relationship with Mr. Jansen, but he kept attempting to contact her by phone and email," he said. "We do get calls from residents asking us to advise individuals that the relationship is over and to stop contact. In this case, it did elevate to the point of stalking."

At some point, police did contact the Racine County District Attorney's office. After the victim contacted police over the weekend that Jansen was supposedly still trying to contact her, the DA's office agreed that stalking was an appropriate definition. Mount Pleasant investigators went to Jansen's home and during the conversation, Jansen allegedly admitted the allegations, and he was taken into custody.

Jansen is scheduled to be formally charged with one count of felony stalking during his initial appearance before Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch at 1:30 on Tues., Feb. 7. He remains in the Racine County Jail on $5,000 cash bond.

Original Story, 9:30 am Feb. 6: Mount Pleasant Police have confirmed that Sturtevant Village President Steve Jansen has been charged with one count of felony stalking.

He was taken into custody shortly before noon on Sun., Feb. 5, after a Mount Pleasant woman phoned police to report that Jansen has been harrassing her.

Jansen, 52, is being held on a $5,000 cash bond at the Racine County Jail.

He has been president of Sturtevant since 2003 after serving three terms on the Village Board as a trustee.

The village does not have a statement at this time, Village Administrator Mark Janiuk confirmed.