Man gets prison, probation for driving while intoxicated, stealing from elderly mother

Dec. 03--ELKHORN -- A former Williams Bay and Burlington man was sentenced to four years of prison after he reached a plea agreement on separate charges of stealing from his elderly mother and repeatedly driving while intoxicated, court records show.

Paul S. Malmstrom, 59, who is at the Racine Correctional Institution, reached the agreement for his guilty pleas and sentence Nov. 20.

From three cases, a judge convicted him of three counts of party to theft by false representation and one count each of party to misappropriating identifying information to obtain money, seventh-offense operating while intoxicated and fleeing an officer. The theft charges include one each of taking less than $2,500, between $2,500 and $5,000 and between $5,000 and $10,000.

Malmstrom received the prison sentence on the intoxicated driving charge, according to online court records. He was also given two years of extended supervision.

On April 27, 2017, Walworth County sheriff's deputies stopped Malmstrom in William Bay after his vehicle crossed the center line and entered a yard, according to the criminal complaint. Malmstrom drove away when a deputy left his car.

On the theft-related charges, Malmstrom was ordered to serve three years of probation. Several other charges were dismissed and read into the record as part of the agreement.

The Walworth County District Attorney's Office when it filed criminal charges last year said Malmstrom wrote bad checks to pay property taxes and bills and tried to get his mother's life insurance money.

Malmstrom's mother told police she gave her son a ring she'd had for 20 or 30 years, but she did not do it purposefully, the complaint states. She said she had memory problems.

"When you're my age and your memory is shot, things happen, and people take advantage of you sometimes because of this," Malmstrom's mother said in the complaint.

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