Plea agreement reached in 2022 homicide

EAU CLAIRE — The second of four men charged in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting has pleaded no contest to a charge of second degree recklessly endangering safety as party to a crime, a far lower offense than the first degree homicide charge he originally faced.

Xavier Thompson, 36, Eau Claire, had been scheduled for trial in October. A pre-sentencing investigation is due by Sept. 30, and Thompson’s sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 16.

The agreement is predicated on Thompson’s willingness to testify in the case. Monday’s court record says truthful testimony is “part of the defendant’s plea agreement.”

The difference in potential sentences is substantial. Second degree recklessly endangering safety is a Class G felony. It can mean up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $25,000. First degree murder, on the other hand, is a Class A felony and carries a life sentence upon conviction.

Thompson had been scheduled for trial in April, but an announcement by prosecutors citing “new information” changed the plans just before the trial began.

Golden’s plea is the second from among the four men charged in the 2022 death of Christopher Connor, who was hit by a bullet fired from a vehicle after two groups that were bar hopping had repeated confrontations. Michael Purnell, 34, Eau Claire pleaded guilty to felony murder, aggravated battery as party to a crime earlier this month.

Purnell’s sentencing is scheduled for December. Records from his plea hearing do not specifically reference any expectation of testimony.

Those events leave Kemone Golden and Jamon Sullivan as the remaining defendants in Connor’s death. They are being tried separately. Golden is scheduled for trial next month, while Sullivan’s trial is scheduled for June 2025. Both men face charges of first degree intentional homicide, among other charges.

According to the criminal complaint in the cases, two groups encountered each other several times are area bars and there was an argument immediately before Connor left in one car, followed by three others.

Shots were fired from one of the trailing cars near Bergen and Bellevue avenues. Police recovered a total of nine shell casings. Connor was being treated by a bystander when officers arrived, but an autopsy determined he had been struck through the heart.

Several hours later police spotted a vehicle they believed was involved in the shooting. Purnell got in and drove off, followed by an officer. A high-speed chase began when the officer tried to pull Purnell over. It ended when the car’s tires were punctured.

Purnell and Thompson were charged in the days immediately after the shooting. Golden was implicated a couple weeks later, when a jailhouse call by Thompson indicated he was the gunman. Golden wasn’t arrested until July 2023, when he was found in the Chicago metro area. Sullivan was arrested in October of last year.