Shooting suspect stood over victim, fired ~6 shots, complaint says

FITCHBURG, Wis. (WMTV) – The man accused of trying to kill a man outside a Fitchburg apartment complex on Memorial Day stood over the victim and fired approximately six shots, all while the victim’s mother looked on, according to the criminal complaint against him.

Dawaun Hugger has been charged with attempted first-degree homicide and misdemeanor bail jumping. He appeared in Dane Co. court Thursday, where he pleaded not guilty, and his cash bond was set at $250,000.

According to Fitchburg Police Dept. detective Jordan Trundle, Hugger, 20, claimed he drove from Sun Prairie to Fitchburg with the intention of fighting his brothers, who he said were “talking (expletive).” The mother of the shooting victim told investigators Hugger took on both of his brothers before moving on to the shooting victim, who was only identified in the complaint by his initials.

The victim’s mother claimed her son “was able to beat up Dawaun,” before the defendant went to an SUV and grabbed a gun, the complaint continued. Two videos taken by bystanders also showed Hugger getting a handgun from the Ford Explorer and then walking toward the victim before firing, investigators noted.

The victim’s mother told officers a shot to her son’s shoulder knocked him to the ground, according to prosecutors. The complaint states she recounted how Hugger walked up to him, stood over him and fired several times from a gun with an extended magazine. The victim told a detective who visited him at the hospital that he believed Hugger wanted to kill him, according to the complaint. Hospital staff told an investigating officer, the victim suffered from 13 entry/exit wounds, prosecutors added.

Hugger also was shot in the incident, according to the complaint. In fact, he was one of the two people who suffering from gunshot wounds when officers responded Monday evening to the reported shooting, in the 2100 block of High Ridge Trail. Both Hugger and the other individual were taken to the hospital. The victim had been taken to an area hospital by a friend and then moved to UW Hospital because of the severity of his injuries, prosecutors said.

Officers at the apartment complex reported finding 17 shell casings at the scene as well as bullet holes in an Explorer that the defendant and the third person who was shot claimed they were in. The officers, who found the SUV crashed on Fish Hatchery Road, reported finding a black gun with an extended magazine. The complaint noted Hugger explained he had tried driving away from the apartments but could not make it far because of the injuries to his arm.

Investigators reviewing body cam video of the officers who offered medical assistance to Hugger noted his apparel matched what the shooter in the bystanders’ video was wearing: no shirt, black pants and “very distinct boxers exposed from his pants.”

A separate complaint against another man linked to fight detailed his involvement. In the same statement Thursday in which the Fitchburg Police Department indicated Hugger was arrested, it added Phillip Walker, Jr., was charged with felony bail jumping and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He also was in court Thursday where his bond was set at $300.

The complaint against Walker, 18, accused him of being involved in a fight involving three people and punching Hugger several times. It added that when Hugger recounted the incident to investigators, he identified Walker as his brother and claimed the teen was hitting him, although Hugger said the punches didn’t hurt.

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