Woman seeks to have Ogle County charges of falsely reporting a shooting dismissed; hearing set for March

An Ogle County judge will hear arguments in March for motions filed by a
Chicago woman’s attorneys seeking to dismiss charges of falsely
reporting a shooting near Rochelle in May 2025. 

Jodie Wiederkehr, 56, the campaign director of Showing Animals Respect
and Kindness, is charged with two counts of falsely reporting an
offense, a Class 4 felony, and one count of harassment by telephone, a
misdemeanor. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in August 2025. 

SHARK has been advocating for the closure of a rodeo held at Rancho La
Esperanza, on Ritchie Road south of Rochelle, that has hosted
steer-tailing events. 

The rodeo has continued to operate under a permanent special-use permit
issued by the county, records show. The most recent event was held Oct.
18, 2025. 

The charges against Wiederkehr stem from May 25, 2025, when prosecutors
allege she repeatedly called 911 and told an Ogle County dispatcher that
she saw someone get shot at 16989 Ritchie Road, the location of the
rodeo, when she knew what she was telling them was not true, Ogle County
State’s Attorney Mike Rock said in a previous interview with Shaw Local. 

Wiederkehr’s attorneys have argued that the context is important, and
the intent of those calls was to report animal cruelty. 

On Wednesday, Wiederkehr appeared before Ogle County Associate Judge
Anthony Peska for a status hearing. 

Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten asked for more time to
respond to motions filed Jan. 20 by Wiederkehr’s attorneys, Brad Thomson
of Chicago and Chris Carraway of Colorado. He said the state needed 45
days to respond. 

Those three motions ask the court to dismiss all charges, arguing that
they violate Wiederkehr’s right to free speech and are a result of
vindictive prosecution. 

Wiederkehr’s attorneys also filed a motion in October 2025 requesting an
extensive list of discovery items from the state, including all
documents, reports and dispatch calls from May 1 to June 17 concerning
the rodeo, among several other items. At a hearing Dec. 3, 2025, Leiston
said he planned to file a written objection to that motion. 

Peska said all arguments will be heard at Wiederkehr’s next court
appearance at 1:30 p.m. March 24. 

“I will block off the entire afternoon,” said Peska, striking February
dates for Wiederkehr’s final pretrial hearing and trial. 

https://www.shawlocal.com/ogle-county-news/2026/02/06/woman-seeks-to-have
-ogle-county-charges-of-falsely-reporting-a-shooting-dismissed-hearing-se
t-for-march/