Deputy in hospital shooting cleared of any wrongdoing
ELKHORN - A Walworth County Sheriff's Deputy has been cleared after shooting an out of control inmate inside a hospital. The district attorney said the shooting was justified.
When a Walworth County Deputy shot and killed an inmate, Sheriff David Graves stood behind him, saying, “he felt he and the other people around him were in imminent danger. He took what he believed to be necessary action."
The Walworth County District attorney agrees.
In January, 18 year-old Alfredo Villarreal was brought from the jail to the hospital after he fainted. While in the hospital he kicked Deputy Richard Lagle, and tried to smash the window with a chair.
Lagle first tried using his taser, then fired five shots at Villarreal, killing him.
At the time Villarreal's family admitted he'd been in trouble before, but said he was getting his life together.
"He was going to school back in Janesville, trying to get his high school diploma, about to be a father. Now, his kid has to grow up without him," said Joseph Verdick.
In a letter explaining his decision, district attorney Daniel Necci wrote, "a deputy sheriff was brutally attacked and forced to utilize his firearm in a defense."
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