Obregon pleads guilty to homicide before trial

Andrew Obregon pleaded guilty to two charges of homicide in Kenosha County Circuit Court Friday.

Obregon’s trial on 32 charges related to the killing of Tywon Anderson and his weeks long evasion of capture by authorities was scheduled to start Monday.

The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department conducted an intense search for Obregon in connection with Anderson’s murder after Obregon led police on a high speed chase through Paris and into Racine County on Oct 2, 2015. He again led deputies on a chase overnight on Oct 3 into Oct. 4, 2015 after a smash and grab burglary at one convenience store and an armed robbery at another. He was sighted again on Oct. 6, 2015. In all of those cases Obregon ultimately escaped efforts to capture him. He ultimately was captured on Oct. 13, 2015 in Lake County, Ill after another chase that started in Brighton where a woman surprised Obregon, who was squatting in a Brighton home. He assaulted her and stole her car.

The pleas were a last minute surprise to prosecutors, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said. The DA’s office had spent “numerous hours preparing for this trial.”

Obregon pleaded guilty to intentional homicide relating to Anderson, attempted homicide relating to a woman who encountered Obregon while he was a fugitive, armed robbery of a convenience store during the time he was being sought by police and three charges of fleeing police.

Once Obregon plead guilty to those charges, it didn’t make any sense” to continue to prosecute the remaining lesser charges and they were dropped, Graveley said.

Essentially the same plea deal was offered to Obregon in October but was rejected, Graveley said.

Sentencing is set for April 4. Maximum sentence would be life plus 150 years, Gravely said.

Gravely will seek a life sentence, he said.

“The impact of this case for people who live West of the I was to change how they lived their lives,” Graveley said. “People who never locked their doors started to.”

For the weeks that Obregon was at large, it seemed like his whole department centered on finding him, Sheriff David Beth said. Ultimately a huge amount of law enforcement resources were expended bringing Obregon in.

“This case got more attention than any case I am familiar with in southeastern Wisconsin,” Beth said. “Everything focused on Andy Obregon.”

Beth also praised the cooperation of neighboring law enforcement agencies and family members in helping with the effort to capture Obregon.

By seeking a life sentence, Gravely said he hopes to be able to bring Western Kenosha County residents “some peace of mind permanently.”

Beth said he also was surprised at the last minute plea deal, though he was expecting one earlier. Obregon had been cooperative with authorities after his capture and sheriff’s department detectives felt they had the case “nailed down.”

But as the time for the trail to start got closer, Beth surmised that Obregon may have wanted to go through with it as a way to have two more weeks outside of prison walls. But that changed when the Sheriff’s Department received a request to bring Obregon to court for a hearing Friday afternoon.

“I am sure people out here (Western Kenosha County) would be happy if Andy would never make it out again,” Beth said.

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  1. Northwestern Mike says:

    Excellent. I no longer have to go to court as a witness.

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