Suspect in Fox River Mall shooting, arrested in Iowa, waives extradition
Dezman Ellis
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (AP) - A teenager charged in a fatal shooting at a shopping mall in eastern Wisconsin has waived extradition in Iowa, where he was arrested days after the slaying, police said Friday.
Law enforcement officers were heading to Iowa Friday to collect Dezman Ellis, 17, who was arrested in Des Moines on Thursday, Grand Chute police Capt. Colette Jaeger said.
Jaeger said Ellis waived his right to an extradition hearing and was expected at the Outagamie County Jail in Appleton on Friday or Saturday.
Ellis is accused of killing Jovanni Frausto, 19, at the Fox River Mall on Sunday during an argument over a girl. A bystander was wounded in the gunfire, and the shooting forced crowds of people to shelter in place inside the suburban Appleton mall.
Ellis was charged Tuesday with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Shooting at Fox River Mall in Grand Chute
It was not immediately known if Ellis has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Ellis was with his girlfriend, who used to date Frausto, according to the criminal complaint. Their friends told police that Ellis and Frausto started to argue and that they were threatening to beat each other up, prosecutors said.
According to the complaint, witnesses told investigators that Ellis said to Frausto: "Back up, back up. I’ll shoot this place up. I’ll kill you."
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Prosecutors said Ellis pulled out a gun and shot Frausto, who was wounded in his chest, arm and back. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. A bystander, 20-year-old Colt Lemmers, was shot in the hip. Lemmers was treated and released.
Ellis fled the mall with friends in a car that was found the next day outside an Oshkosh home, according to authorities. It was later learned he had fled the state, prompting Grand Chute police to enlist the aid of U.S. marshals to help track him down.
Grand Chute is a town of about 22,000 people on the outskirts of Appleton, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Milwaukee.
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