GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay police say they’ve made an arrest in a shooting that happened during the looting of a downtown gas station. Police say 27-year-old Leo Martin was taken into custody Sunday. He is charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety, discharge of a firearm, disorderly conduct and use of a dangerous weapon.
“Mr. Austin was the individual we believe that pulled out the firearm and shot several rounds during a riot situation,” said Police Chief Andrew Smith. “Working with our violent crime task force that’s out there every night working to identify the individuals that are shooting guns in our community which is a huge, huge concern for us…[We were able to] utilize video footage from that night to identify the vehicle that he was in, we were able to ascertain that he was the driver of the vehicle that night, and subsequent to the investigation we were able to take him into custody.”
Ten people have now been arrested in connection to unlawful activity following a protest in Green Bay back on May 31st. That includes six adults and four juveniles.
- 31-year-old Keon Ransom. Charged with Disorderly Conduct and Unlawful Assembly
- 31-year-old Chauncy Hughes. Charged with Two Counts of Disorderly Conduct and Unlawful Assembly
- 29-year-old Jonathen Beard. Charged with Resisting an Officer, Obstructing an Officer, Disorderly Conduct, and Unlawful Assembly
- 18-year-old Lacari Price. Charged with Burglary.
- 23-year-old Elijah Pott. Charged with Disorderly Conduct.
- Four juveniles arrested for Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Damage to Property. (They are not being identified due to age.)
Smith says the day started off as a peaceful protest, that peaceful protests are welcome, and the department will help facilitate them no matter the topic.
“But if those protests devolve into criminal behavior, then we have to take action. People involved in that criminal behavior will be held accountable for the things that they do,” Smith said. “If you commit an act of criminal nature during one of these protests you will be prosecuted you will be held accountable for the things that you do.”
Smith says he was following the protest the entire time, and was at the scene just moments after the shots were fired.
“As the protest came down the street here with individuals in cars and hundreds of people walking, a large number of individuals that were in that protest decided to loot the gas station,” Smith said. “After that looting occurred, we cleared people out of that building. Individuals began throwing rocks at us, they didn’t follow our dispersal orders, and it was an unlawful assembly.”
The Marathon gas station at the intersection of Walnut Street and Monroe Avenue in Downtown Green Bay. (IMAGE/WTAQ News)
Most of the people that were arrested, Smith says, were part of the protest earlier in the night.
“The majority of people that I was dealing with were people that were part of the protest earlier. Some of them I recognize by face and know by name,” Smith said.
The investigation into the gas station looting is still an open case, and police are still looking for anyone who may have been involved in criminal activity. Surveillance footage from that night is available online.
As for the subsequent curfew imposed by the city, Smith says that was in response to crimes committed after the crowd dispersed – like the burglary of a nearby business where a rear window was broken, broken windows of shops on Washington Street, arson incidents where fire were lit in garages and flaming objects were put in the streets, disorderly conduct, and intimidating people who were trying to get past.
Charges in any arrests made in connection to that curfew, Smith says were fairly straightforward.
“Nobody’s against protests. Let me be quite clear. We’re against criminal behavior, and it was to prevent further criminal behavior from occurring,” Smith said. “People that were arrested for curfew were arrested for violating curfew, right?”
Below is the statement released by Green Bay Police:
“The Green Bay Police Department has made an arrest in the shots fired incident that occurred on May 31st , 2020, during the riot at East Walnut and South Monroe Ave. Leo M. Austin, twenty-seven years old, was arrested on November 15, 2020 by Green Bay Police Officers after a lengthy investigation. This arrest was a collaborative effort between the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the Green Bay Police Detective Division, Green Bay Community Police Officers and the Green Bay Violent Crime Apprehension Team. This incident began as a peaceful, lawful, First Amendment protected event, which later devolved into looting, vandalism, arson, burglary, and shots being fired in the City of Green Bay.
The multi-jurisdictional team working on this investigation has so far referred criminal charges on six adults and three juveniles, but the investigation is ongoing. We will continue to investigate leads and gather information in order bring to justice those who committed criminal acts. Lawful First Amendment activities will always be supported and facilitated, but criminal acts of the nature seen on May 31, 2020, will result in citations and arrests in the City of Green Bay.”
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