Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judge William Kussel Jr. ordered a $1 million bond Nov. 18 for a homicide suspect from the Town of Belle Plaine.
Brent Hofman, 74, has been charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of 60 years. Both charges carry an increased penalty because the victim was an elderly person.
The criminal complaint reports that the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department received a call at 9:15 p.m. Nov. 12 from the surviving victim that his friend, a 67-year-old man from the Greenleaf area, had been shot by Hofman after the victims had been at a property on County Road M in the Town of Germania. Six minutes into the call, the surviving victim said he shot Hofman with a .22 Ruger, telling the dispatcher beforehand he would do so if Hofman came into the house.
The surviving victim told the dispatcher that Hofman was talking “weird” and said he had to kill people, according to the complaint. Hofman had allegedly arrived to the house intoxicated. The three men had a few cocktails and were talking about deer hunting before Hofman allegedly started talking about “killing you guys.”
A deputy on the scene reported in the criminal complaint that he saw Hofman leaning against the side of the house and ordered him to the ground. Hofman allegedly did not comply but soon fell to the ground after claiming he “hurt everywhere.” When the deputy took Hofman into custody, Hofman said “thank you” and “I love you.”
The surviving victim did not have any injuries, according to the criminal complaint. He told investigators neither he nor his friends said anything that would aggravate or upset Hofman.
The victims had been hunting at the site in the Town of Germania for 10 years, according to the criminal complaint, and that there had been no issues with Hofman before that night.
Hofman allegedly said “I never hurt anybody” when he was being booked for homicide after being treated at ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano, according to the complaint.
In the initial forensic report, it was reported that the deceased victim had multiple gunshot wounds, including one in the chest and one in the left wrist.
According to the criminal complaint, additional charges could be added if results show Hofman’s blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit. Hofman’s blood was drawn at the hospital when he was being treated for his wounds.
Public defender Eric Maciolek requested the bond be set at $250,000, which Kussel denied. Hofman waived the time limits for a preliminary hearing, so the next hearing will take place at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in Branch I of the Shawano County Courthouse.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
