UPDATE: The Brown County Sheriff's Office has released an update in the homicide investigation in the Green Bay Correctional Institution:
"Brown County investigators have forwarded charges 1st Degree Intentional Homicide and Suffocation/Strangulation. The DA’s Office has added Hate Crime enhancers to both charges. The suspect remains in restrictive custody at Green Bay Correctional Institute. Initial appearance has not yet been scheduled."
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UPDATE:
The Brown County Sheriff's Office releases an update into the homicide investigation at the Green Bay Correctional Institution:
The Medical Examiner’s findings following the autopsy confirm the victim died of strangulation/suffocation by manner of homicide.
The suspect and victim had occupied the same cell for only hours before the incident.
The investigation remains ongoing and formal charges are expected to be filed late next week.
PREVIOUS REPORT:
19-year-old Micah Laureano, an inmate at the Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI), was found dead Tuesday night in his cell.
- The Brown County Sheriff's Office says incident is being investigated as a homicide.
- The office says the suspect is 24-year-old Jackson Vogel.
- Allouez Village President Jim Rafter encourages the community to reach out to state legislators in getting the facility closed.
- Rafter said the village plans to call for a public hearing on GBCI.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"My reaction is the highest level of frustration," Jim Rafter, Village of Allouez President, said.
Rafter labels the news of Laureano's death an "ultimate bad thing" for the correctional facility.
"They are living in a two-people cell made for one (person) and when you put maximum security prisoners, who for majority of the previous year have been locked up in their cells, when you put them together in a cell, bad things are going to happen," Rafter said.
The Brown County Sheriff's Office said they arrived to the scene around 9:35 p.m. Tuesday to reports of an inmate unconscious and not breathing.
They said when they arrived to the scene, the victim,19-year-old Micah Laureano, was pronounced dead.
The Sherrif's Office claim Laureano's cell mate, 24-year-old Jackson Vogel, as the suspect.
Vogel has been serving a 20-year prison sentence for attempted 1st degree intentional homicide dating back to 2016.
Laureano was on a 3-year prison sentence for multiple charges including robbery with use of force.
"What else do we have to do," Rafter said. "We have known for a very, very, very long time that that place needs to be closed."
Rafter has been making efforts to get the institution closedas he also runs for State Senate District 30.
Poor living conditions and low staffing are two of many issues he says he's addressing for the aging facility.
"When people are losing their lives, when I hear from parents whose sons are in that facility and the way that they are being treated or not being treated, it gets me mad," Rafter said.
Now, he encourages the community to spread the word down to the state capitol.
"We are Wisconsinites, we should be one Wisconsin and we should be fighting for all the people in Wisconsin," Rafter said.
Rafter said the village will continue to fight for the facility's closure and plans to call for a public hearing with state legislators.
The Brown County's Sheriff's Office says the incident is still under investigation.
INITIAL REPORT:
The Brown County Sheriff's Office says the death of a 19-year-old Green Bay Correctional Institution inmate is being investigated as a homicide.
The sheriff's office says deputies were called to GBCI just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday for an inmate without a pulse and not breathing.
Despite first responders rendering aid, the victim was pronounced dead, according to authorities. His death is now being considered a homicide.
The victim and the suspect were cell mates and the incident happened in their cell, the sheriff's office says.
The office says the victim has been identified as 19-year-old Micah Laureano, and the suspect is 24-year-old Jackson Vogel.
GBCI is an adult male correctional facility operated by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
The sheriff's office is not releasing any other information at this time.
