Man who ran from cop with drugs sent to prison

A Cedar Grove man who ran from a deputy with a backpack that contained fentanyl and methamphetamine after a December 2024 traffic stop in Fredonia was sentenced in Ozaukee County Circuit Court last week  to two years in prison.

Judge Adam Gerol also sentenced Matthew M. Buelow, 37, to three years of extended supervision for possession of methamphetamine and possession of narcotic drugs, crimes he pleaded guilty to in February.

Buelow also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest and was sentenced during the April 6 hearing to nine months in jail for that crime.

An additional felony, possession of cocaine, as well as misdemeanor counts of operating a vehicle after his license was revoked, possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying a concealed knife, were dismissed in February as part of a plea agreement but read into the record, which means Gerol could consider the facts surrounding those charges when he sentenced Buelow.

According to a criminal complaint, Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy Noah Narlock stopped a car at 9:47 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1, after noticing the vehicle deviating from its lane near Fredonia Avenue and Regal Drive.

The driver was slow to react and came to a stop outside the Fredonia Government Center, then almost immediately ran from the car carrying a light blue and black backpack.

Narlock recognized the driver as Buelow from the time the deputy worked in the county jail, the complaint states.

Narlock chased Buelow as he ran south through private property but lost sight of him on Bluebird Court.

The deputy searched Buelow’s vehicle and found men’s clothing and personal items scattered throughout it as well as a duffel bag containing more clothing and prescription drugs in Buelow’s name.

A Sheriff’s Office dog was used to track Buelow’s path south into the backyard of a house on Bluebird Court, where a phone was found in the grass. The backpack Buelow was seen carrying, a pocketknife and lighter were found behind a shed on the property.

At 10:42 a.m. the next day, a resident of St. Rose Avenue called the Sheriff’s Office to report that he had found a man sleeping in his camper trailer.

Deputies responded and found Buelow in the camper wearing the same clothes he had on when he ran from Narlock.

The owner of the camper said he found drugs tucked underneath a bed in the camper. The white powder tested positive for cocaine, according to the complaint.

Buelow’s backpack was searched and in it authorities found powdery substances that tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine as well as two scales, a large fixed-blade knife, metal containers sometimes used to “cook” drugs and a copper scrubber that can be used as a filter when smoking crack cocaine, the complaint states.

Buelow, who is classified as a repeat offender, has previously been convicted of drug possession, fleeing an officer, theft and attempted burglary in multiple Ozaukee County cases dating to 2007, according to court records.