‘You Shot Me in the Head and I’m Done.’ Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 4.5 Years After Assaulting Game Warden

A conservation warden’s job often requires them to work alone in remote places. They cover vast areas of rural counties, often without ready backup, which is one reason they’re seven times more likely to be assaulted than other law enforcement officers, and they’re injured twice as often. A recent case in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is just one example of this occupational hazard. 

A criminal complaint released this month details how even a seemingly routine UTV stop can turn into a life-threatening struggle. On March 5 a Forest County judge sentenced Mark A. Szczerba II of Kansasville, Wisconsin, to 4.5 years in prison for assaulting a law enforcement officer. After receiving eight charges — including attempted first degree intentional homicide — Szczerba ultimately pled guilty to battery and attempted battery of a law enforcement officer. 

The warden, who remains publicly unidentified (due to provisions in Marsy’s Law), was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Szczerba, who was shot twice during the incident, was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

The brutal details of the attack were obtained from a criminal complaint by the state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation, which is the agency tasked with reviewing critical incidents involving state officers. Most of the specifics around the assault come from an interview investigators conducted with the warden, identified only as A.H. in the report, because Szczerba told investigators he did not remember many details. Two witnesses told investigators that they could not see the fight because it was dark.

The incident began with a UTV stop around 9 p.m. on July 15, 2022. The warden was enforcing recreational vehicles alone near Crandon, a small town in northern Wisconsin. The warden was the only conservation officer assigned to Forest County, which spans 1,046 square miles.

Using radar, the warden clocked two UTVs traveling at 47 mph in a 25 mph zone, according the criminal complaint. After activating his emergency lights and sirens the warden stopped the second UTV. A young woman was driving. The warden told her she’d been going “a little fast” and asked for her license. That’s when he noticed the headlights of the second UTV swing around and head back in their direction.

The driver of the second UTV, Mark Szczerba, drove his vehicle between the warden’s squad car and his daughter’s UTV, partially blocking the opposite lane of traffic. Szczerba was accompanied by a friend, an adult female passenger who is only identified as M.F. in the complaint. 

Szczerba, 44, climbed out his UTV, flipped up the visor on his helmet, and moved close to the warden. He asked, “What’s going on here?”  

The warden, who was in full uniform, explained he had stopped the UTV for speeding and then asked for Szczerba’s driver’s license, which he produced. According to cell phone records obtained during the investigation, Szczerba’s friend sent these texts during the stop:

Just pulled over for a cop. We are sitting with a cop right now … We were doing 47 in a 25.

She doesn’t have an atv license. We just left a bar up the road. Mark is getting mouthy.

Then Szczerba turned violent. When the warden asked him to move his UTV out of the road, Szczerba grabbed his license from the warden’s hand and shoved him in the chest. The warden tried to secure an escort hold on Szczerba’s arm, but he broke free and punched the officer in the head. Previous court records state that Szczerba was 6’3″ and weighed 235 pounds.

The warden then tried to “de-centralize” Szczerba (meaning take him to the ground), but he slipped free. Szczerba then grabbed the back of the warden’s vest carrier and began landing punches to the right side of his head. According to the complaint, the warden could hear the other two riders screaming as the warden and Szczerba grappled in the road.

When he broke free from Szczerba’s grip, the warden tried to radio for assistance, but the radio had been ripped from his uniform. The warden tried to reach around his back to find the mic while drawing his Taser. He ordered Szczerba to the ground or he would get Tased.

“The defendant knelt while A.H. [the warden] got a hold of his microphone and called, ‘C125 Forest, I need help!’ The defendant stood up,” according to the criminal complaint, “then went back down to his knees. [The warden] then ordered the defendant to go down onto his stomach.”

Szczerba stood up, said “Fuck this,” and stepped toward the warden.

The officer fired his Taser but it was “ineffective.” He retreated to his squad car but fell, and Szczerba jumped on him. He began kneeing the warden repeatedly in the head, then put him in a “rear-naked choke” by locking his arm around A.H.’s neck, under the chin. 

The warden “tried to pry the defendant’s arms from his neck as his vision was clouding and he was seeing stars and darkness. [He] was sure that if he lost consciousness, the defendant would kill him.”

The warden drew his service pistol, a 9mm Glock 17, and fired. (It’s unclear if it was a warning shot or he missed his target.) Szczerba grabbed the muzzle of the gun and the warden fired again, this time striking Szczerba’s hand. But Szczerba continued fighting.

“The defendant was striking A.H. and tried to take control of the gun again. A.H. then asked the defendant, ‘Please stop, we can talk about this.’ The defendant was able to twist the gun so that it was pointing at A.H.’s forehead. A.H. was able to wrestle the gun from the defendant’s grasp. A.H. moved the gun behind him and, as soon as he felt the barrel against the defendant’s helmet, pulled the trigger. The gun fired and the defendant said, ‘You got me. You shot me in the head and I’m done.’ A.H. said, ‘If you’re done, then get off of me.’”

Szczerba did, and walked to his UTV.

The warden radioed for help again. “Shots fired, I need help, Keith Siding Road, west of Wolf River State Trail.” A response confirmed help was on the way.

The warden noticed the magazine had dropped from his pistol and the slide had not locked back. He loaded another mag and chambered a round in case Szczerba continued the attack. 

The woman who had been riding with Szczerba — who works as an emergency room nurse — approached the warden and asked if he had called an ambulance, then if had any gauze. He radioed again for an ambulance and dispatch confirmed one was on the way. The officer gave the woman his first-aid kit, and she applied gauze to Szczerba’s head and hand.  According to the woman’s interview with investigators, Szczerba told his daughter that he loved her and that he was sorry. 

“[Szczerba] was talking and alert,” according to the complaint, “so [the warden] avoided moving toward the defendant in case the defendant attacked him again. A.H. was exhausted and winded and still afraid of what the defendant may do. A.H. believed he had been in a fight for his life and realized he was covered in blood. A.H. did not know if the blood was his or the defendant’s.”

Several officers with the Forest County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. A body camera recorded their initial conversation with the game warden, who was sitting on the tailgate of his squad car in tears. The red and blue lights were still flashing.

“Why?” he said to the officers. “What the fuck! … I just asked for an ID, was just going to run it and then [Szczerba] started swinging at me.”

The warden, who officers described as out of breath and distraught, said he thought Szczerba was going to kill him.

Both Szczerba and the warden were transported to the hospital, where the warden reported feeling a splitting pain on the side of his swollen head. His throat was sore, he was coughing, and he had difficulty breathing and swallowing. He also sustained cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

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The warden worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources full time since 2018; he was transferred to Forest County in 2020. The Forest County District Attorney cleared the warden of any criminal charges for his response to the assault.

“Conservation wardens have an unwavering and selfless duty to serve and protect the citizens of our great state,” WDNR Secretary Karen Hyun said in a statement after Szczerba’s sentencing. “We count on our warden’s knowledge, skill and abilities — in addition to the lawful cooperation of our public — to keep them safe in the performance of their duties.”

Editor’s Note: David Zeug is a retired conservation officer and lives in Northern Wisconsin.