GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) – The suspect wanted in a deadly shooting at the Fox River Mall was arrested in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday.
Grand Chute Police believe 17-year-old Dezman Ellis quickly fled their jurisdiction, and then made his way across state lines shortly after.
“We knew he resided in Oshkosh and contacted Oshkosh PD for assistance. But as quickly as they could get to the house, it was just not quite fast enough and they missed him there by a matter of minutes, we believe,” Chief Greg Peterson told the WTAQ Morning News with Matt and Earl. “Continuing investigation revealed that it was likely he was going to be heading out of state…He had family and friends, various contacts, at locations out of state. We then contacted the U. S. Marshal Service for assistance due to their more expansive jurisdiction.”
The Marshal Service utilized a fugitive task force comprised of deputy marshals and officers from other police agencies they had deputized to cover as much ground as they could. Eventually, they were able to track Ellis to a home in Des Moines, where he was taken into custody.
Before they could even get him into court for an extradition hearing on Friday, Grand Chute officers were making the trek through the snow towards Iowa to learn more.
“There are items of evidence that have been collected in Iowa that we want to gain access to, and in addition to that, there was some thought that perhaps we would travel down there and begin interviewing Ellis,” Peterson said.
Ellis did waive extradition to Wisconsin on Friday. The Polk County, Iowa, clerk of courts office confirms Ellis will be returned to Wisconsin to face charges.
While the criminal complaint states that Ellis shot 19-year-old Jovanni Frausto during an argument over a girl, Peterson says they won’t know the whole story until they get time to pick his brain.
“This was not the solution 30 or 40 years ago. It’s become more prevalent and people have begun to resort to violence and physical confrontation more quickly than they had previously. I don’t know what the answer is,” Peterson said. “We’ll learn more certainly after we continue with the investigation and get an opportunity to talk to Dezman Ellis about what motivated him and drove him. But it’s a good question. It’s a tough one to explain…What he viewed as a reason for engaging in whatever behavior that he engaged in on Sunday. So it’s hard to say. We’ve been made aware that’s likely involved as a possible reason for what took place, but it’s gonna be so important for us to talk to him and determine what he was thinking at the time.”
An extradition hearing is likely sometime today. If Ellis waives extradition, he could appear in court in Wisconsin next week.
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