Burglar gets four years prison, must pay $35K in restitution

A 22-year-old Onalaska man was sentenced Friday to four years in prison and banned from contact with his wife for a string of burglaries earlier this year.

Jordan Touchet will spend another 10 years on supervision and probation and will be required to pay nearly $35,000 to his victims.

Jordan and Sarah Touchet were arrested in January after two Onalaska break-ins, and later accused of burglaries and theft from six places where they worked as cleaners. While free on bond, Touchet was charged with stealing money from the safe of a motel where his wife worked.

Jordan Touchet pleaded guilty in July to three of the 25 charges. Sarah Touchet's case is pending.

Victims who testified Friday in La Crosse County Circuit Court asked for the stiffest possible penalty.

Mark Schauberger said he feared for his life when he found the masked Touchets in his parents' Onalaska home.

Susan Dahlstrom said the Touchets ransacked her home multiple times, stealing $25,000 in cash and jewelry, cooking dinner and raiding the liquor cabinet while she and her husband were on vacation. As a result, she said, her family lost their insurance; to make things worse, her husband then lost his job.

"You went out and spent our money," she said. "You continued your lifestyle when we couldn't continue our lifestyle."

Judge Todd Bjerke said court evaluations show Touchet had a rough life but did not excuse his actions.

"You can find anyone on the street that's had a rough life," Bjerke said. "They still know right from wrong."