Menomonee Indian Reservation suspect convicted after beating death

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By Ethan Duran
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On Wednesday, a Federal jury in Green Bay convicted Duane Waupoose Jr. of voluntary manslaughter after a man died after being struck with a shotgun in 2021, the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced.

Waupoose Jr., 28, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence, which is in violation of federal law, district officials said. He was arrested after a man died after an armed assault on the Menominee Indian Reservation. Both Waupoose Jr. and the victim were enrolled members of the Menomonee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and lived on the reservation before.

The penalties for Waupoose Jr.’s charges are at least five years of prison and a maximum of life in prison, district officials said. Senior United States District Judge William Griesbach will sentence him on June 2.

Waupoose Jr. and others were approached by a group looking to fight someone around midnight on Jan. 31, 2021, trial evidence showed. The 28 year old was injured after a shotgun went off during a fight in the driveway of a home in the school view area of the reservation. He disarmed the man who shot him and chased him into the street, striking him with the shotgun.

Court evidence showed Waupoose Jr. caught up with the other man 40 yards down the road and hit him in the face and head with the shotgun. The man eventually died as a result of his injuries.

“The jury’s verdict is the direct result of the collaborative effort and hard work of the Menominee Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is fully committed to working with its federal, state, local, and tribal partners to make all of our communities safer places in which to live and work.

The Menomonee Tribal Police Department and the FBI were partners in the investigation and received help from the Menomonee Indian Reservation Violent Crime/Safe Trails Task Force, district officials said. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Maier and Peter Smyczek prosecuted the case.