Man charged with felony murder in 2009 Sheboygan death — plus updates on two other court cases
Police continued talking to prosecutors about the 2009 case over the years until the district attorney's office filed charges in December.
Maya Hilty
Fulfilling our obligation: This report is part of the Sheboygan Press's mission to follow criminal cases from arrest to their conclusion.
SHEBOYGAN - Sheboygan police never forgot about the death of a 48-year-old man in 2009, Capt. James Veeser said.
At the time, Sheboygan County Coroner David Leffin ruled the death accidental based on witnesses’ statements the victim had fallen while dancing, but he wrote there were “unanswered questions” about the death.
More than a decade later, prosecutors charged Antonio Aguilar, 49, with felony murder for the death.
Here's what to know about that case, plus updates on two other cases in Sheboygan County Circuit Court.
Man charged with felony murder suspected of punching victim, causing him to fall and die in September 2009
In September 2009, Sheboygan police were dispatched to a Sheboygan home for the report of an accidental death.
A witness told police a few people were drinking and dancing in her basement. At one point, she went upstairs for a few minutes, and when she returned, she found the victim laying in a chair bleeding from his head, according to the criminal complaint.
Aguilar told police that while the while the woman was upstairs, the victim slipped on the floor, which was wet with beer, and fell directly on his face. Police noted they found the bar clean and dry, according to the criminal complaint.
Aguilar and the woman who witnessed the incident said they put the victim in a chair, where he remained until the woman found him dead the following day.
A few months later, police found another witness to the incident, who said Aguilar punched the victim, causing the victim to fall.
At that point, police had enough information to approach the district attorney’s office about a felony murder charge, Veeser said.
Felony murder involves causing someone’s death while committing another crime, including — as suspected in this case — battery.
In early 2012, the victim’s body was exhumed for an autopsy, which showed head fractures not typically consistent with a victim being punched, but consistent with the victim’s head striking a blunt object, according to the criminal complaint.
Police continued talking to prosecutors about the case over the years, Veeser said, until the district attorney's office filed charges in December.
“We never forgot about the case, and we never forgot about the family,” Veeser said. “We felt it was important to bring the suspect to justice, but more importantly, to provide some type of closure to the victim’s family.”
Aguilar was living in Texas when he was arrested on the charges. If convicted of felony murder, he could face a maximum fine of $10,000, a maximum of 24 years in prison, or both.
Charges dismissed against man accused of being party to a crime to a shooting
In 2019, prosecutors charged Donovan Hinkle, now 27, with being party to a crime to attempted murder for allegedly firing a gun at a woman.
Surveillance video from a nearby Sheboygan elementary school showed a man police identified as Donovan Hinkle leave a woman’s house and return to a car, at which point a man police later identified as Daniel Hinkle fired several rounds toward the woman as she stood on her front lawn, according to the criminal complaint. Police estimated a bullet traveled within about a foot of the woman, who was not hurt, but bullets did hit the house.
Two witnesses told police they heard Donovan on the phone asking for a gun and threatening to shoot someone.
Prosecutors later amended the charges against Donovan to being party to a crime to first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm toward a building in a school zone.
But last July, District Attorney Joel Urmanski requested that Judge Angela Sutkiewicz dismiss the charges without prejudice, so he can refile the same charges against Donovan, which Sutkiewicz did.
That’s because a few months prior — and more than two-and-a-half years since being charged — Donovan had made a request for a speedy trial, which meant the case needed to proceed to trial by late July or be dismissed, Urmanski said. Because of a medical issue, a key law enforcement witness was not available for the July trial, Urmanski said.
Urmanski has not yet refiled the charges against Donovan, who is incarcerated on 2014 robbery charges until 2024.
University of Wisconsin-Madison retired law professor Frank Tuerkheimer said that refiling the charges would violate Donovan’s rights to a speedy trial.
Urmanski said that prosecutors can refile cases that judges dismiss without prejudice.
Daniel Hinkle pleaded guilty to first-degree recklessly endangering safety in 2021. Judge Samantha Bastil sentenced Daniel to four years in prison and four years of extended supervision last August.
Man sentenced to probation for 2018 armed burglary
Brandon Hunter-Moncree, 37, was found guilty of being party to a crime to armed robbery and substantial battery, among other crimes, in a 2019 jury trial.
A victim who police found injured in 2018 said he let Hunter-Moncree and a few others into his home after they announced they were police officers, according to the criminal complaint. Hunter-Moncree hit the victim repeatedly with a gun before the group left with about $300, the victim told police.
In January, Judge Kent Hoffmann sentenced Hunter-Moncree to five years of probation, with conditions including complete sobriety, attending school to obtain a high school equivalency diploma and seeking employment. If Hunter-Moncree’s probation is revoked, he faces eight years in prison and eight years of extended supervision.
Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or MHilty@sheboygan.gannett.com.