GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A man serving a 20-year prison sentence for inadvertently shooting and killing his best friend lost an appeal Wednesday to withdraw his no contest plea in the case.
Bryant Ellis killed Andrew Tohulka on Feb. 20, 2017. According to a criminal complaint, Ellis admitted that he and Tohulka had been drinking and smoking marijuana at Ellis’ parent’s house. The two were playing with a handgun that Ellis took from under his mother’s bed. Ellis told police he didn’t know it was loaded when he accidently shot Tohulka in the head.
On appeal, Ellis claimed the court didn’t do the proper questioning when accepting his plea, the plea wasn’t voluntary, and his attorneys didn’t properly handle a presentencing psychological evaluation. But in a 13-page ruling Wednesday, the court rejected those arguments.
“Ellis has failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that it would be manifestly unjust to disallow his plea withdrawal The circuit court’s plea colloquy was adequate,” it ruled on plea issue.
Additionally, “In short, Ellis has not proved that his attorneys performed deficiently or that he suffered prejudice. The court properly exercised its discretion in denying Ellis’s plea withdrawal motion,” the court said regarding his attorneys.
Ellis is currently serving time at the Green Bay Correctional Institution, DOC records show.
