Man charged in standoff enters mental illness plea

A 37-year-old man accused of firing high-powered guns from his house in a Fredonia subdivision, threatening to shoot law enforcement officers and holding authorities at bay for more than 35 hours in May 2025 pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease Monday to the six felonies he faces in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.

Matthew K. Novak, who was arrested May 10 at his home at 139 Fox Glen Dr. after authorities blasted him with a water cannon and shot him with a beanbag round, was ordered by Judge Steve Cain during the Feb. 9 hearing to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

A not guilty by reason of mental illness plea triggers a two part process, the first of which is to determine whether the defendant committed the crimes he is charged with. If he is found guilty at trial or by plea, then a judge determines whether he lacked the capacity to appreciate the wrongness of his acts at the time he committed them.

Based on a psychiatric evaluation done last year, Judge Sandy Williams ruled in August that Novak was not competent to stand trial, a finding that did not address his mental state at the time of the standoff but was based on the conclusion that at the time of the evaluation he lacked the capacity to understand the proceedings against him, communicate with counsel and assist in his defense.

Williams ordered him to undergo treatment and three months later ruled he was competent to stand trial.

During a hearing in May, at which Novak’s bail was set at $1 million, Ozaukee County District Attorney Benjamin Lindsay said Novak repeatedly expressed disdain for law enforcement officers and the federal government during the standoff. After his arrest, he told authorities he wanted to die a martyr and was upset that the standoff was covered only by local news outlets, not the national media, according to a criminal complaint.

He also told investigators that he barricaded himself in a room that allowed him to watch for people entering his house, who he intended to kill if he considered them a threat, the complaint states.

Novak appeared for a May 27 bail hearing via video from the jail, and throughout much of it he gestured dramatically, at one point flipping off the camera. He appeared to be screaming at the camera, but his microphone was muted.

Novak is charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, failure to comply with an officer who was trying to arrest him, intentionally pointing a firearm at an officer and three counts of harming or threatening to harm an officer — all felonies.

According to the complaint, an Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy responded to the report of loud music and gunfire in the area of Novak’s house at 8:36 p.m. Thursday, May 8. Other deputies arrived to canvass the area, and at 10:14 p.m. one of them called Novak to ask if he was playing the music. Novak replied, “Oh yes, absolutely,” adding that he was also shooting guns and having a good time.

Novak also said, “So, I’m going to play some music, and if anyone comes around I shoot” before ending the call, the complaint states.

Officers left the area but returned after receiving a 911 call from a Fredonia resident who reported hearing a gunshot. At 10:58 p.m., deputies heard gunshots coming from the direction of Novak’s home.

Surveillance video from a neighbor’s home recorded as many as 100 gunshots coming from Novak’s house, including two bursts of 25 to 30 rounds, each in less than six seconds, according to the complaint.

A deputy launched a drone equipped with a camera and saw a man shooting a handgun and rifle from the back patio of Novak’s house.

Lindsay said in May that Novak used photos of Democratic governors as shooting targets in his yard.

The Ozaukee County Special Response Team arrived at around 11:30 p.m., informed Novak he was under arrest and ordered him to leave his house, which Novak refused to do.

During a phone conversation with negotiators, Novak said he was armed with a handgun and rifle, made one of several references to having automatic guns, mentioned using drugs such as LSD, cocaine and marijuana and said he was ready to shoot. During other conversations with officers, Novak said he took “lots of LSD” as well as heroin, the complaint states.

Novak threatened to kill officers, made reference to having an AK-47 assault rifle and told a negotiator he had a rifle aimed “at your head with night vision,” according the complaint.

Early Friday morning, May 9, a Saukville police officer saw Novak wearing night vision goggles and pointing a rifle at an armored vehicle occupied by officers, the complaint states.

At 4:39 a.m., authorities flew a drone into the house through the patio door and saw a rifle with a bipod on the kitchen counter before the drone became disabled. Another drone was flown into the house, providing video that showed several guns in the house before Novak knocked it down using a blanket.

At one point, Novak blocked his phone number, but authorities obtained a new number for him and during an expletive-riddled conversation with one deputy Novak said, “I got your children’s names and your wife. People die if you shoot more pepper gas ...,” according to the complaint.

Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles said shortly after the standoff ended that authorities, who breached Novak’s home so they could see him holed up on the second floor, eventually used an unmanned fire hose to blast him.

Novak later told officers that he had no intention of leaving his house and was willing to die there until he got cold from being sprayed with water, the complaint states.

At 10:47 a.m. Saturday, May 10, Novak came down the stairs and stood in the front doorway. He ignored the commands of officers and instead flipped them off. He was eventually shot in the leg with a “less lethal” beanbag round and arrested.

Novak’s home was seriously damaged during the standoff and had to be shored up by contractors before it could be searched. When authorities were able to enter the house on May 14, four handguns, nine rifles, ammunition that included armor-piercing rounds, night vision goggles, thermal optics and electronic devices were found, Knowles said.