Manuel Ponce (Door Co. Jail)
STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Manuel Ponce pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he tried to kill five law enforcement officers in a hail of gunfire.
Ponce, 35, faces 14 counts, including five attempted first-degree intentional homicide charges, for the Oct. 2, 2025, incident in Nasewaupee.
No trial date was set Monday. He returns to court June 8 for a status conference, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, Door County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Sturgeon Bay police officers went to a home on County C for a 911 call follow-up. They found a man outside, saying he left the house because he had been drinking with Ponce, but was now afraid for his safety.
Deputies could hear gunshots from inside the residence. Officers approached the house, announced their presence and additional shots were fired.
Police established phone contact with Ponce, who said he did not want to be killed by law enforcement in front of his eight-year-old daughter. After about a half hour, Ponce left the home and was arrested. Police later inspected the home.
Investigators observed extensive damage throughout the residence from numerous bullet holes in the floor, doors, walls and cabinets throughout the hallway, bedroom and bathroom areas. Investigators recovered 69 bullet casings. The majority of the shots appeared to be through SLE’s bedroom door traveling in a southwesterly direction through the residence in the direction of the backyard area of the property,” the complaint states.
Ponce told police he believed his social media posts angered Mexican drug cartels and he was being targeted by them.
“Ponce said he started shooting his guns because he was protecting his daughter from an “intruder” that was around his home,” the complaint states.
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