APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An Outagamie County courtroom erupted Tuesday after 18-year-old Dezman Ellis was given a 40-year prison sentence.
It comes a year after a shooting at the Fox River Mall, which left one man dead and another wounded.
Ellis is convicted of shooting and killing 19-year-old Jovanni Frausto during an argument about a girlfriend.
Tensions ran high inside the Outagamie County courthouse, with both the victim’s and suspect’s friends and families in attendance.
“You know, this is a sensitive and a very emotional afternoon, and I expect that everybody here is going to act appropriately,” Outagamie County Judge Mark McGinnis said.
Almost from the very beginning, some were thrown out of the courtroom, but emotions hit a boiling point after Dezman Ellis heard his fate.
“I’m going to sentence you to the Wisconsin state prison system for a period of 55 years,” McGinnis said. “Your initial term of confinement is prison will be 35 years. The time you’ll serve on extended supervision will be 20 years.”
The outbursts didn’t end there. They quickly escalated outside the courthouse and continued into the parking lot.
Prior to the sentencing, more than a handful of Jovanni Frausto’s family members gave emotional victim impact statements. They pleaded with the judge to give the convicted mall shooter the maximum sentence.
“This sorry excuse for a human sitting in front of me should not be free,” said Tanya Lopez, Frausto’s mother. “He deserves life in prison. He is a waste of space. He deserves to sit in prison and think of why he’s there and live with that.”
“The image of his little brother that looked up to him, jump in his casket, lay on his chest for the last time just break my heart every day,” Frausto’s father Julio Aponte said.
A bystander, Colt Lemmers, was also wounded the day of the shooting.
On the witness stand, he spoke directly to Ellis about the impact of the shooting.
“I barely go outside of my house, and when I do, it’s just to go shopping or to get food with my family,” Lemmers said. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any trust in anybody. I sit in my house and do nothing with my life.”
Ellis also spoke in court, addressing the victim’s family and apologizing for taking a life.
“I made a mistake that I regret, and I’m going to regret it the rest of my life,” he said. “I want you to know I’m truly sorry for what I did, and I’m sorry for the pain and suffering I’ve put you through.”
After killing Frausto, Ellis ran from the mall in a car with friends. He was arrested days later in Iowa.
After serving 40 years in prison, Ellis will serve 25 years on extended supervision. He’ll get credit for the 362 days he’s already spent in jail.
