Mar. 5, 2025 5:00p; Updated 9:45p with last item
From WGTD News and the Associated Press:
A 15-year-old boy is expected to appear in adult court to face a charge of 1st Degree Intentional Homicide in the death of his mother. Caledonia police were dispatched to a home north of Franksville on E. White Manor Court Tuesday evening around 10:30. According to a news release, the boy surrendered at the door of the home as the first responding officers rolled up. Inside officers found the body of a woman who'd been stabbed and had suffered some type of blunt force trauma.
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A state prison inmate from Racine has died in Waupun. 23-year-old Damien Evans had been serving time for armed robbery based on a 2019 conviction. The cause of death was not revealed, but he's the seventh inmate to die in the state's oldest prison since 2023. Those deaths were attributed to a variety of things, including suicide, a fentanyl overdose, stroke and dehydration and malnutrition. Several deaths remain under investigation. The warden and several staff members are facing charges.
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Racine police have been working without a contract for over five years in a legal dispute over retiree benefits. That could change soon. A spokesman for the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission says the panel is expected to make a decision before the end of the month. The city has said it's willing to abide by whatever the Commission rules.
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New Racine County Executive Ralph Malicki is withdrawing the county's support for an ice arena. For the past several years, a non-profit has been raising funds to build the facility in a county park. Ultimately, the county would've taken ownership and the place would've been run by a third party. The plan--as outlined by the late County Executive Jonathan Delagrave--called for the county to kick in $5 million of the estimated $13 million cost. In a statement, Malicki said the county has to focus on other building projects. The $200,000 that had been earmarked for engineering and design work will be reallocated.
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The office of Racine Mayor Cory Mason has had no comment on whether the mayor will veto changes to city council governance procedures that were adopted by the city council Tuesday night. The biggest change would allow the council president to appoint members to standing committees. Committee members would then appoint their respective chairs. Several council members have been in a running battle with the mayor over control of the legislative branch of city government.
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A 16-year-old boy has been given a five-year prison term for his involvement in a series of shootings in Racine in December of 2023. Keyontae Stephenson had struck a plea bargain and was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Faye Flancher. According to the criminal complaint, Stephenson had been riding around town with several others, shooting up cars and buildings. Two people suffered gunshot wounds but have since recovered. Police processed seven, separate shooting scenes. Cases are pending against two others. Another 16-year-old boy, who’d been facing lesser charges, recently received a two-year prison term and is serving his sentence at Lincoln Hills.
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