WHITEHALL, Wis. – A Melrose man was charged with reckless homicide in the shooting of an Ettrick motorist in his car on the highway between Galesville and Ettrick in mid-May. The criminal complaint says Todd Eric Gieck, 61, admitted during three weeks in jail that he accidentally discharged the gun. More incriminating are statements from a man in Gieck’s car. Dustin Rommel is quoted telling investigators that Gieck had been agitated and on edge that day. While the two were parked on the side of the U.S. Highway 53, Gieck became further agitated, paranoid even, when a vehicle passed them slowly. Gieck pulled a gun, drove to catch up with the other car, said something like “watch this,” and fired the gun into the driver’s window. All this according to Rommel, as quoted in the criminal complaint. The bullet struck Kyle Dahl, 36, in an eye. Dahl’s car crossed the centerline, went into the southbound ditch, continued for 45 yards and stuck a culvert. He died 31 miles away in intensive care at a LaCrosse hospital.
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Litany of charges
Gieck faces three charges:
> First-degree reckless homicide, which can mean 60 years in prison.
> Discharge of a firearm from a moving vehicle, 12-1/2 years and a $25,000 fine
> Illegal firearm possession as a convicted felon, five years.
Gieck could also face a six-year extension on a California assault conviction that banned him from further possession of a firearm. A search of Gieck’s home found firearms and ammunition, the criminal complaint said.