Wausau man convicted of shooting friend in 2019 gets 8 years prison

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - The 22-year-old man convicted of shooting his friend was ordered to spend eight years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision during a sentencing hearing on Friday.

In February, David Anselmo pleaded guilty to homicide by intoxicated use of a firearm. In exchange for the plea, a count of operating a firearm while intoxicated was dismissed but will be considered during Friday’s sentencing.

Prosecutors said Anselmo eventually told investigators his finger was near the trigger of the gun when it slipped. Troy Wilcox, 19, died as result. The shooting happened on June 7, 2019.

Court documents say Anselmo left the house after he fired the gun that killed Wilcox without performing any life-saving measures. Wilcox’s grandmother discovered him hours later. Anselmo returned to the scene and told family and investigators there that Wilcox probably shot himself. Then, when investigators told him they did not think it was a suicide, Anselmo asked who killed him.

Wilcox’s family gave victim impact statements at the hearing, asking for him to be given the maximum sentence of 30 years.

“I got out of my car and went to the window and saw Troy laying on his bed,” Wilcox’s grandmother recounted in her statement. “I said, ‘Troy, I’m here. Wake up, Troy, I’m here.’ But he didn’t respond. There was an empty cup sitting on the table by the window. I picked it up and threw it at him, hitting him in the arm, saying ‘Come on, Troy, wake up.’ And then I saw blood on the side of his head. I started shaking, crying, no, no, no.”

“David not only took Troy’s life, he has taken all of our lives from us. None of us are the same,” Wilcox’s mother said. She continued “You left my baby boy for his grandmother to find him like that knowing he was dead for over 10 hours. You had 10 hours to make the right decision to call the police and tell them what happened. Instead, you decided to be a coward and lie to everyone’s face and try to keep yourself from getting into trouble. If you had just called 911 right away we wouldn’t have to be here going through this three years later. Instead, you lied and here we are reading statements on how this has completely ruined our lives.”

“I want to say that I’m sorry, to everyone, to the parents of Troy. I’m really sorry,” Anselmo stood up, turning to the family to apologize. He apologized to his family and to his friend. He told the judge he takes responsibility for his action, though they fall short.

Anselmo will receive credit for time served over the last three years in jail. As part of his sentence, he also is not allowed to have contact with Wilcox’s family.

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