Thread: WI: Name Of Slain Kenosha Officer Released

Bond set as details emerge in deputy's shooting
5/18/07

A Kenosha man was ordered held in custody on a $1 million bond for allegedly killing Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr. during a traffic stop.

Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Carl M. Greco ordered the bond partly because of the murder charge filed against Ezeiquiel Lopez, 44.

Greco also ordered the bond because Lopez is an undocumented immigrant and has a criminal history, which extends from Kenosha to Missouri, Texas and Utah.

Lopez was charged with first-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon. If convicted, he could be sent to prison for life plus five years.

According to a criminal complaint:

Fabiano was shot three times, including a deadly shot to the head, during the traffic stop at 14th Place and 45th Avenue in the town of Somers. The stop began about 11:35 p.m. Wednesday.

Fabiano was shot by 11:40 p.m.

University of Wisconsin-Parkside Officer Jimmie Spino was on scene within minutes of the stop. He came as backup after hearing that Lopez had refused to pull over.

Spino said he heard Fabiano order Lopez out of a Chevrolet Astro van, then heard heard two gunshots and saw two flashes.

Fabiano then fell to the ground. Spino returned fire as Lopez continued shooting.

The Astro van rolled into nearby trees as Lopez ran away.

Sheriff’s department officials said Fabiano was able to fire four times before he went down. Three of those bullets hit the van.

Spino also fired several shots.

Lopez reportedly fired six shots from a Lorcin .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun.

Fabiano was pronounced dead about 12:30 a.m.

Lopez was arrested around 2:30 a.m. about one mile from the shooting scene.

Records said he drank, took drugs and bought a gun from a gang member before the shooting. He said he did not pull over because he “thought he had been in an accident,â€

Slain deputy's funeral set for Wednesday

(http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... S1.article)

May 19, 2007

NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT

KENOSHA, Wis. -- The funeral for the Kenosha County sheriff's deputy slain while on duty late Wednesday will be held the morning of May 23.

Details of funeral plans for Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr. were preliminary on Friday, a sheriff's department spokesman said, confirming that the wake for Fabiano will be Tuesday night. Locations for the wake and funeral had not been set.

Meanwhile, a judge set bond at $1 million for suspect Ezeiquiel Lopez, an illegal alien who has a criminal history, and set May 29 for a hearing to determine whether the case should go to trial.

According to the criminal complaint, Lopez, 44, of Kenosha had been drinking, using drugs and was angry at his wife and doesn't remember shooting at the deputy. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Kenosha County, accused of shooting Fabiano after the deputy stopped his 1999 Chevrolet Astro van at about 11:35 p.m. Wednesday in Somers.

When interviewed by authorities, Lopez said he was upset Wednesday, stating that his wife had an affair.

"The defendant said that he had been drinking tequila, bought a .380 semiautomatic pistol for $300 from what he described as a gang member and also bought and consumed about $200 worth of cocaine," the complaint said.

Lopez also said he didn't initially stop his van for Fabiano because he thought he had been in an accident. Lopez said he "cannot recall shooting at any officers," the complaint said.

Fabiano had three gunshot wounds, including at least one to the head that killed him, the complaint said.

University of Wisconsin-Parkside Police Officer Jimmie Spino, who was Fabiano's backup, heard Fabiano ask Lopez to get out of the van, heard two shots and then saw Fabiano fall, according to the complaint.

Spino then fired his pistol and Lopez continue to fire and then ran from the van along a line of trees, the complaint said. Fabiano was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 50 minutes later.

At about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, deputies arrested Lopez in an apartment complex parking lot about a mile away. He was treated at a local hospital because he complained of pain in his hand from a puncture wound. Among the five Social Security cards in his possession and various identification cards, Lopez had an Illinois ID that said he was Ezequiel Quintero, the complaint said.

this for me hits far to close to home. I was planning to attend a uw near where the shooting took place. i can no longer comtiplate why these people who so blantly do not follow rules should get a free ride at the tax payers expense. I'm sorry but i would rather that money go else where. To top things off...I hold my head low, because my senators surely nolonger live in the REAL world and will vote for this bill. Hopefully yours doesa nd will shoot this bill down.

bump

One more deputy dies in the line of duty

May 20, 2007
In a grim, grim day, southeastern Wisconsin lost a sheriff's deputy, a husband, a father and a hero early Thursday.

Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr., 48, was gunned down as he attempted to make a routine traffic stop shortly before midnight just south of the UW-Parkside campus. He died a short time later at a Kenosha hospital.

Our condolences go to his wife, Amy, and their 7-year-old daughter. Words cannot express the sadness “ and the anger “ that area citizens feel over this tragedy.

A suspect identified as Ezekiel Lopez was apprehended a half mile away from the shooting scene after a massive three-hour manhunt in the wooded and residential area that involved police dogs and helicopters. We are thankful for that fast police work “ aided by citizens who called in information to authorities as the hunt went on.

The shooting was a brutal reminder to all of us that there is no such thing as "routine" police work in today's violent society.

Neither was there anything routine about Fabiano. He was a decorated veteran who had served Kenosha County well for almost two decades.

A graduate of Kenosha Bradford High School and a Marine Corps veteran, Fabiano and another deputy made a heroic rescue of an unconscious little girl “ smashing a window and pulling her to safety from a Wheatland house fire in 1991, according to Kenosha News accounts. For that he earned a Silver Star. Later that same year he was wounded during a brief shootout during a standoff with a gunman in Paddock Lake when the man opened fire with a high caliber rifle and shattered the squad car's spotlight, sending glass and metal fragments into his arm and elbow.

Such were the risks Fabiano willingly took on to serve his community “ a risk that is shared daily by the sheriff deputies and police officers who patrol our streets and highways, answer our calls of distress and try to make our corner of Wisconsin a safer place to live and work.

The ranks of those officers are diminished by one today and that is cause for sorrow and cause, as well, to remind ourselves to show our appreciation for their work.

Fabiano's death came just a day and a half after Kenosha County lawmen from various agencies gathered at the Kenosha law enforcement memorial to remember officers who had died in the line of duty.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said he asked for all law enforcement to work together to never add another name to the list. But Fabiano's name will soon go on the memorial. As Beth told a reporter, "One more name too many."

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/20 ... 021639.txt

A man whose life was spent defending US citizens only to murdered by a CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN.

I hope Wisconsin has the death penalty.

I wonder what would happen if an American citizen killed a Mexican police officer. I wonder how many rights he or she would have in the Mexican justice system.

I guess illegals don't mind splitting up American families...by death if necessary. This is disgusting. This good man was a veteran, a police officer, a husband and a father. When does our government start to care about his family????

05/21/2007: NOW OPEN TO COMMENTS: Why an alleged cop killer was never sent home
Category: General Posted by: Editors
By Brent Killackey and Janine Anderson
Journal Times

The man charged with killing Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr. was in this country illegally and had previous contact with law enforcement, but none of the various law enforcement agencies either knew he was illegal or contacted immigration enforcement officials until his most recent arrest.

Kenosha County District Attorney Robert Zapf said the Department of Corrections provided the information that Ezeiquiel Lopez, 44, of Kenosha was an illegal immigrant. Lopez was under DOC supervision while he was on probation for 2005 and 2006 battery and domestic violence offenses in Kenosha County.

Lopez is being held in the Racine County Jail on $1 million bail. He appeared in Kenosha County Circuit Court on Friday. If convicted, he will be sentenced to life in prison.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a “hold statusâ€

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf-Bb7Hz ... e%2Ecom%2F

Will place this here to go with this story.