Cornelius Russell
WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Cornelius Russell was sentenced Friday to more than seven years in prison for shooting another rafter on the Little Wolf River on July 25, 2021.
Russell pleaded no contest to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. Two other counts, including possession of a firearm by a felon, were dismissed, court records show.
Judge Raymond Huber sentenced Russell to prison for seven years, nine months, and placed him on extended supervision for five years, according to court records.
Russell has prior convictions for battery by a prisoner, recklessly endangering safety, robbery, and criminal damage to property.
According to the criminal complaint, “Officers learned that the victim and Russell were in the same tubing group that consisted of about eight people from the Green Bay area. Witnesses indicated that victim and Russell were not fighting prior to the shooting.”
The victim, who is not named, offered this account: “Victim recalled Russell calling his name and when he looked over toward Russell he showed him a gun. Victim asked why he would bring that here? Victim estimated approximately 30 people tubing in the area when the gun was displayed. The next thing he knew he was climbing up the bank and a lady was telling him to “just lay still”. Victim positively identified the shooter as Cornelius Russell and indicated he had known him for about eight years.”
While the sheriff’s department indicated the shooting victim had complained to Russell about littering with a beer can, the criminal complaint makes no mention of that detail.
The victim’s fiancée “indicated that victim had not made any aggressive movement towards Russell prior to him shooting. It looked to her that they were discussing something before he shot. She had not met the shooter prior to that day,” the complaint states.
Two nurses who heard the gunshot attended to the victim, who was bleeding from the head and suffering seizures. He recovered enough to later talk to police, although the complaint does not include specific details of the injuries.
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