Sheboygan woman pleads not guilty to making terrorist threats against sheriff's department

SHEBOYGAN — A Sheboygan woman is facing a felony charge for making terrorist threats after she is suspected of calling 911 dispatch with threats to “shoot up” the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department last November.

In addition to the making terrorist threats charge, Shaylah D. Schmidt-Hersh, 34, was also charged with one felony count of battery or threat to judge, prosecutor, or law enforcement officer. She also faces four counts of misdemeanor charges of felon use oleoresin device, criminal damage to property and two counts of disorderly conduct – use of a dangerous weapon.

On Nov. 29, 2023, Schmidt-Hersh plead not guilty to the charges. Solomon Gatton, the defense attorney listed on the case, didn’t immediately respond to an opportunity to comment on this article.

The following events are all alleged behavior described in the criminal complaint for Schmidt-Hersh’s case. The case was filed Nov. 9, 2023, and a ruling has not been made.

On the night of Nov. 3, 2023, the Sheboygan Fire Department arrived at Schmidt-Hersh’s residence regarding a report that someone was having difficulty breathing. When the firefighters entered the home, Schmidt-Hersh pointed what they believed to be a gun at them.

Firefighters called law enforcement for assistance. One of the victims said he was afraid he was going to be shot because of how close Schmidt-Hersh was to him.

Schmidt-Hersh later said she only had a BB gun and denied trying to hurt anyone or wanting to cause any damage, according to the complaint. It is unclear if this statement is only referring to the incident with the firefighters or included the events that happened the next day.

On Nov. 4, 2023, a motorist flagged down police, saying a woman dressed in black had tried to hit his truck with a baton.

Later, the officers found Schmidt-Hersh with a baton. According to the report, one of the officers saw her use the baton to hit the west wall of the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department.

When officers called for Schmidt-Hersh to come out of the alley she had walked into, officers saw her holding the baton and a knife.

After being instructed to drop the weapons, she backed away before eventually throwing them to the ground. Schmidt-Hersh was then taken into custody. She was reportedly emotional and non-compliant during the process.

Upon search, officers found a box cutter and small pepper spray in Schmidt-Hersh’s pocket.

On the way to the hospital, Schmidt-Hersh was put in a hobble device after she reportedly started screaming and kicking.

At some point during the incident, Schmidt-Hersh reportedly charged one of the squad cars with her baton and scratched a window. It appears one reason it was concluded she scratched the vehicle was because officers reported there was no scratch on the window earlier that day when it was checked.

More felony filings: Man pleads not guilty to fleeing Sheboygan County sheriff’s deputies in October

Earlier that day, Schmidt-Hersh made multiple 911 calls. The following timeline goes through the calls made to dispatch involving Schmidt-Hersh.

At 3:39 a.m., Schmidt-Hersh called dispatch saying she was willing to walk to the sheriff’s office with her gun and make the police kill her. She also stated wanting to put the gun in a sergeant's face.

At 3:54 a.m., a Mobile Crisis worker called to warn the sheriff’s office that Schmidt-Hersh told them she was going to go shoot the department. Four minutes later, a caller concerned about Schmidt-Hersh’s welfare and safety said he received Facebook Messenger messages from her saying she was going to “shoot up” the sheriff’s office.

At 4:20 a.m., Schmidt-Hersh called the department back, saying she had a loaded gun and she was going to “shoot up the Sheriff’s Department and die by suicide-by-cop.”

“I can shoot the hell out of everybody,” she said.

An hour later, Schmidt-Hersh again called dispatch and said she had a 40-caliber pistol and was going to shoot someone in the face. She said she lost the gun on the way to the office and that she was going to use her baton to beat the dispatcher because she was not receiving any other help.

“I will beat the hell out of you,” she told the dispatcher on the phone.

She continued that while she didn’t currently have her gun, if she found it, she was going to shoot someone.

During the call, a vehicle can reportedly be heard driving past her and she starts yelling and breathing heavily “as if she was trying to charge at the vehicle,” the complaint read.

A sheriff's sergeant reportedly spoke to the defendant over the phone and noted her speech was “heavily slurred” and she “sounded intoxicated.”

That same day, an officer received text messages from Schmidt-Hersh’s number with photos showing a baton, pepper spray and box cutter knife; herself looking sad; and herself with a gun. She reportedly texted she’s done and will kill anyone who tries to stop her.

The next scheduled activity in the case is a scheduling conference March 26.

Fulfilling our obligation: This report is part of the Sheboygan Press's mission to follow criminal cases from arrest to their conclusion.

Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Sam Bailey at sgbailey@gannett.com or 573-256-9937. To stay up to date on her stories and other news, follow her on X (Twitter) @SamarahBailey.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan woman pleads not guilty to terrorist threat charges