By Kristen Zambo
Racine Journal Times
RACINE — Sunday football games long have prompted friends and neighbors to make friendly “gentleman’s wagers” about the winners, scores and number of sacks.
Winners of these bets might reap bragging rights or even a free meal. But in the Racine County Jail this week, the spoils were in the form of a cookie. Or two. The number of cookies due to the winner appeared to be the bone of contention that allegedly sparked a fight between two inmates.
One of those inmates is jailed on drug and weapons charges, court records show. The other is Michael E. Westman Jr., 39, who is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the 1999 shaking death of his infant daughter, Morgan.
Prosecutors charged Westman as a repeat offender on Thursday with battery by a prisoner and disorderly conduct in the fight on Tuesday inside the Racine County Jail, according to his criminal complaint.
The alleged victim told a deputy that he and Westman bet on a football game on Sunday and the winner was to receive a cookie from the loser, the complaint stated. Then the inmate said he won “both bets” against Westman, so he was owed two cookies. He said Westman “paid him a cookie, but still owed him one more,” according to the complaint.
When he confronted Westman, Westman allegedly said the inmate already had received it from another inmate, the complaint stated. But the inmate disagreed, saying that other inmate also owed him a cookie, so he still was one short from Westman.
Jail video showed Westman punch the inmate twice in the head, the inmate stagger backward and then return two punches to Westman, the complaint stated.
Westman, of Racine, reportedly said the two were just “horse playing,” the complaint stated.
Full story: Alleged killer accused of punching inmate in dispute about cookie