LA FARGE, Wis. – A dispute that has been going on for over a decade between a La Farge property owner, Village Officials and Police, resulted in an involuntary cleanup of a property owned by Jacob Sell at 121 South State Street last week. On Thursday, Jan. 30 the La Farge Police Department put out a notice on social media that there would be an “increased presence of law enforcement from multiple agencies” in the area of the property on Thursday morning. A statement later the same day explained the action to taken to cleanup the property and the circumstances surrounding the action.
LA FARGE POLICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL ABATEMENT OF CHRONIC NUISANCE PROPERTY
The La Farge Police Department reports a successful cleanup and nuisance abatement operation in the Village of La Farge on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
The property, located at 121 South State Street, has been the source of numerous complaints since approximately 2013, including concerns related to violations of long-standing village ordinances.
After several attempts to resolve this matter had failed, the legal process to abate this property was initiated with the assistance of the village attorney. A court order was sought and subsequently granted. The order commanded the removal of trash, refuse, debris, used or secondhand material and other items stored outdoors on the property.
Prior to the abatement numerous attempts to resolve the issues with the property owner were attempted, but to no avail. The property was deemed a chronic nuisance pursuant to village ordinance 11-7.
Today’s action represents a significant step in restoring the beauty of our community. This action also sends a message to property owners who are unwilling to work with the village to correct ordinance violations.
The cleanup operation was carried out by River Valley Junk and Demo. The effort included the removal of lumber, glass, and various types of secondhand materials and other items ordered by the court to be removed.
Chief Palmer would like to thank the following law enforcement agencies which provided security support for the operation: Vernon County Sheriff’s Office, Westby Police Department, Cashton Police Department, Ontario Police Department, and the Kickapoo Valley Reserve-Police Department.
Chief Palmer extends his gratitude to the residents and visitors for their patience to resolve this matter. He would also like to thank La Farge Village Attorney Nikki Swayne from Abt-Swayne Law for her guidance throughout this process.
Finally, Chief Palmer would like to thank the La Farge Village Board and village employees for their forward thinking and support.
This operation underscores the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies, officials, legal counsel, village workers, visitors, and members of our community.
The La Farge Police Department encourages all residents to report nuisance properties or activities by contacting (608) 625-4500, or completing an ordinance complaint form located in the Village Hall.
Village residents are encouraged to reach out to the La Farge Police Department if they are having trouble cleaning up their properties.
Together, we will attempt to resolve these issues in a progressive and constructive manner.
Steven Palmer
Chief of Police
La Farge Police Department
But that action to cleanup what the village calls a “nuisance property” is only a piece of the story surrounding Sell, the Village and the law enforcement. As we reported in Dec., Sell has a history of altercations with law enforcement including previous incidents at the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office and with the La Farge Police. In September of 2024, Sell defended himself in a two day trial on several charges that stemmed from the La Farge Police trying to enforce an ordinance in the village regarding unregistered vehicles on city streets. Village Police ticketed an RV owned by Sell and parked on a city street. Sell tried to stop police officers from taking the vehicle to the county impound and later had an altercation with officers at the Village offices.

Additional charges were filed when Sell went to the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office to retrieve personal belongings that were in the impounded vehicle. Sheriff’s Office personnel, including dispatchers, testified that Sell was making disturbance in the public lobby at the Sheriff’s Office and making it difficult for dispatchers to do their job.
Sell was also charged with criminal damage to property for damage to his cell after he was taken into custody for plugging drains and flooding the area as well tampering with other parts of the cell including destroying a mattress. Sell made claims in court that he was mistreated by the Sheriff’s Office while in custody including being placed in solitary confinement for “72 hours”, deprived of water, and being restrained in a “Hannibal Lecter chair” for 3.5 hrs.
Sell also faced a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia for items found in his RV but those charges were later dropped when Sell argued the items could have other uses.
Sell also faced a bail jumping charge when police said they spotted him in a location in the village he was not allowed to be while on probation.
From all those incidents Sell went to trial on:
Bail jumping – found not guilty by jury
Possession of drug paraphernalia – dismissed by prosecutor
Possession of THC – found not guilty by jury
Disorderly conduct – found not guilty by jury
Two counts of criminal damage to property – found guilty by jury
At trial Sell argued his own case and convinced the jury to find him not guilty on three of the charges and was able to convince the court to dismiss the possession of drug paraphernalia charge. Sell successfully convinced the jury the disturbance in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office was protected under his right to free speech and did not impede the work of the office. On the disorderly conduct charge related to the altercation with officers when they were impounding the vehicle Sell argued the village had not communicated that the RV was a problem other than placing the ticket on the windshield, and he was within his rights to try to prevent the removal. Sell was also able to convince the jury that their was not clear evidence of possession of THC in the amounts required to be charged.
The jury did find there was enough evidence from testimony by jail staff that Sell had caused the damage to county property to find him guilty on that charge.
Sell argued to the jury throughout the trial that he was being targeted by police chief because they did not like him. Police Chief Steve Palmer testified that contacts with Sell would often turn confrontational and Sell would sometimes call him at his home and verbally harass him.
In December, Sell was again arrested and charged for what the Sheriff’s Office called a “barrage” of harassing, intimidating, and profane telephone calls to the Sheriff’s Office Communications Center. The Sheriff’s Office from that incident said the frequent calls over the course of several days culminated when Sell came to the Sheriff’s Office disrupting communications and operations while staff were busy serving the community during a winter storm. Sell was taken into custody Thursday morning, December 19, at approximately 6:30 a.m., at the Sheriff’s Office.
Sell was booked into the Sheriff’s Office Detention Center for unlawful use of telephone, disorderly conduct, and harassment. The defendant appeared in Vernon County Circuit Court on Thursday, at 1:00 p.m., and was released on a $1,000 signature bond with the following conditions of release:
No contact with the Village of La Farge police chief unless it is an emergency
No contact with the Village of La Farge police chief’s personal residence nor the chief’s family
No contact with the Village of La Farge Police Department unless it is an emergency and only after calling 911
No contact with the Village of La Farge village hall or employees except by mail for official business
No contact with the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office unless it is an emergency. Sell is allowed to contact the Sheriff’s Office by mail for official business. The court specifically included Dispatch and Corrections in the no contact prohibition.
In a phone interview with La Farge Police Chief Steven Palmer, he said the village and his department have been making an effort to address porperties that have had ongoing ordinance violations and this property was no different. Palmer said there around 15 properties they are addressing three or four that have had chronic issues. Palmer said he always attempts to resolve the issues with properties with communication first, to see if issues can be resolved tickets or court action.
Palmer went on to say the issues with the Sell property go back over a decade, long before he was hired by the Village in 2022, and they have not been able to resolve them and often resulted in more confrontation.
La Farge Village President Frank Quinn said Palmer has been a huge asset in resolving these issues that the Village Board has asked him to address. Quinn said a new ordinance to address the property issues and the formation of a committee to help mediate them will hopefully make the process smoother.
“I have a nuisance property committee that formed,” said Palmer. “It consists of one board member and four members of the community. And one of the things that was brought up in our committee was, allowing people to have like a permit for like a vehicle on their property instead of, I would want to extend to grace and allow people to have, you know, a vehicle on their property. But with the permit system that we’re trying to implement, and it has to go through Board approval still, but it’s something that we’re developing to kind of give somebody leeway, if they have a vehicle that’s not registered or isn’t drivable.”
Sell is due back in Vernon County Court on Feb. 5.
Court records show that Sell also faces charges in Marquette County for harassing phone calls that were filed last week.
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