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Wanted man taken into custody in Sheboygan County after overnight manhunt

Wanted man taken into custody in Sheboygan Co.
Posted at 11:45 AM, May 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-04 13:22:44-04

Deputies have taken a man into custody in Sheboygan County after an overnight manhunt.

23-year-old Jamal Rudd was wanted on active warrants from Manitowoc County. He was taken into custody Friday morning.

Thursday morning the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office was notified of a suspicious incident happening in the town of Wilson near Sauk Trail and Middle Road.

"His demeanor and his body language struck me as odd," Diane Seil with A&M Trees said. "It wasn't very relaxed. It was very rushed and now we know why."

Seil works at a landscaping company on Sauk Trail. She says she saw Rudd walk onto the property Thursday morning.

"This is a rural area," Seil said. "We don't have a lot of foot traffic. Any time I see foot traffic, it's always a little unusual."

She says Rudd walked onto the property, just a few feet from where she sat in her office. He walked around and then went to the parking lot where the employee's cars are parked. Seil called police and shortly thereafter, several squad cars came around to try and locate the man. He wasn't found.

"We knew something was very wrong," Seils said. "We didn't know exactly what was going on. We took precautions here. Locked the doors. We stayed open for business but had moments of confusion. We didn't know what was happening."

Police tried contacting several residents and businesses in the area to advise them of the situation. Police initially believed Rudd had a gun but later said they were unsure.

 "I didn't learn until the lunch hour that this individual was probably armed and roughly five feet from my office window," Seil said. "It may be one of those grace of God moments. I went about my evening at home and maybe have a little more appreciation of my very simple, very quiet life."

Police tried contacting several residents and businesses in the area to advise them of the situation.

Around 9:30 p.m. Thursday police searched the area of I-43 and County Road V in the Town of Wilson. Their search came up empty but those in the area were glad to hear he was caught before breakfast. 

"Feeling good about it," Steve Duomes of Hingham said. "Not quite so concerned and not looking out the window quite as often."

"It was very scary," Gordy Veldboom with Oostburg Concrete Products said. "He was armed. They said don't approach him and just call 911. I'm glad they caught him. I feel very relieved about that and I'm sure my office will too."

Rudd has several warrants for his arrest out of Manitowoc County. One warrant was issued on April 16th for theft, recklessly endangering safety, battery and disorderly conduct. The other warrant was issued on Feb. 23 for harboring/aiding a felon. He was also found guilty of battery and disorderly conduct in May of 2015.

Charges for the incident in Manitowoc County and the suspicious incident in Sheboygan County are pending.