Elkhorn shooting: Couple killed, man now charged with homicide

ELKHORN, Wis. - A man is now charged in connection to the Elkhorn shooting that left a couple dead inside a sports bar on Thursday, Feb. 1.

Online court records show Thomas Routt, 57, of Elkhorn is charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide; attempted first-degree intentional homicide; armed robbery; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His cash bond was set at $2 million.

"I believe these acts could be considered to be premeditated in nature," Judge David Reddy said Friday, as Routt made his initial appearance in Walworth County court.

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Case details

According to a criminal complaint, Elkhorn police were dispatched to Sports Page Barr around 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 1 for a report of shots being fired. When a police sergeant arrived on the scene, he spotted the bodies of two victims, later identified as 33-year-old Emerson Weingart and 37-year-old Gina Weingart.

Friends and family previously told FOX6 News the two were recently married. A friend said Gina was a bartender at Sports Page Barr, and Emerson was there to keep her company when the shooting happened.

Gina and Emerson Weingart (Courtesy: Leland Weingart)

The sergeant also spotted two spent shell casings and a bullet on the floor, per the complaint. The cash register behind the bar had the drawer open, and the cash tray was empty.

A detective spoke with a third victim who was in the bar at the time of the shooting. The complaint states she said there was also a man in the bar who appeared ot be in his 50s or 50s. That man was using a video gaming machine at the bar and, at some point, stood up from the gaming machine, pointed a gun and fired shots inside the bar.

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The complaint indicates Walworth County sheriff's deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Routt in the town of LaFayette around 3:20 a.m. on Feb. 4. The defendant was found to be in possession of contraband, the complaint said, and he was taken to the Walworth County Jail.

On Feb. 6, the complaint states Routt "requested to speak with someone regarding the homicides in Elkhorn." When Routt spoke to a detective, prosecutors said he admitted to being the man with the gun at Sports Page Barr. Routt also said he did all of this "more than likely for the money," according to the complaint. A bartender "told (Routt) to 'put it away or she'd call the cops,'" he said per the complaint.

Shooting investigation in downtown Elkhorn

Routt then said the bartender "slapped the gun and it went off," the complaint states. Routt said he then shot the man who was sitting at the bar. Routt said "he took $120-$140 from the open cash register" before shooting the man again. The defendant then "admitted to following the fleeing female (third victim) out the back door and firing two of three shots at her," according to the complaint.

Prosecutors said Routt told investigators he went home after the shooting and tried to get rid of the gun and ammunition at a gas station the next morning. A search at the gas station turned up a handgun and ammunition, which were found in bags in the gas station's dumpster.

"He will maintain his innocence until we can get in front of a jury," said Russell Jones, Routt's lawyer.

Shooting at Sports Page Barr in Elkhorn

A criminal history

FOX6 News dug more into Routt's criminal background – which consists of burglary, forgery, bail jumping and arson.

"Our families have been devastated by this senseless act of violence," said Jeff Weingart, Emerson's father. "The system that convicted and incarcerated him failed."

Routt spent nearly 25 years in prison for setting his ex-mother-in-law's home on fire in 1995. He received parole in 2020 and later enrolled at Gateway Technical College, where he became an ambassador for the Elkhorn campus in 2023.

"I was a loner, a loser, and I suffered from severe depression. I eventually turned to drugs just to cope with life and to feel normal," Routt said in a speech.

Since Routt's arrest, the college scrubbed several of his videos from their platforms.