Altercation Between Roommates Leads To Battery Charges | Crime

A 22-year-old Madison man faces substantial battery charges after pushing and punching his roommate on Dec. 21 after he realized that the victim had unplugged his stereo equipment, according to the Madison Police Department.

Police said the victim, who was also 22 years old, was trying to get some sleep during finals week, so he unplugged the speakers of Clifton Grefe at their North Lake Street residence.

The victim told police that he had gone through a previous experience of loud music being played at rather obnoxious levels by Grefe, and did not want to deal with that issue at this important test taking time of the year.

When Grefe realized that the system components had been unplugged, he confronted the victim. The victim went to the University of Wisconsin Hospital where he was treated for his injuries, police said.

They said when officers contacted Grefe, he could not believe police were involved in what he thought was a normal interaction between roommates. Grefe also minimized the victim's injury to that of a scratch on his chin, police said.