WAUKESHA - A 24-year-old man will face an intentional homicide count and two other criminal charges stemming from the death of his grandmother, who was shot Aug. 25 in their Waukesha home.
Sean Couture, who according to online court documents resided in the house that his grandmother owned on Douglass Avenue, made his initial appearance in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Thursday. In addition to the homicide count, he was charged with failing to comply with an officer's attempt to take him into custody, a felony, and possession of a firearm while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.
The charges are tied to an Aug. 25 incident in the 200 block of Douglass Avenue, where several neighbors had reported hearing gunshots at about 8:30 p.m., that resulted in an hourslong standoff involving tactical police personnel.
The criminal complaint filed Thursday provided additional information beyond what Waukesha police had previously reported . Among those details was what led to the alleged confrontation with the 74-year-old victim, who police previously identified as Nancy Lovejoy, and how police finally ended the standoff.
According to the complaint:
Couture told police that Lovejoy had discovered a firearm he had purchased in June, precipitating an argument that quickly and violently escalated. Couture allegedly shot Lovejoy near the side-entry door and then dragged her inside. The Waukesha County Medical Examiner's office, which performed an autopsy, indicated that Lovejoy was shot six times.
Couture then called his father, who was vacationing in Montana with his stepmother, to tell them what had happened. His stepmother then called police, authorities said.
Couture waived his rights and spoke to police while he was being treated at a hospital for a bite to his wrist sustained when a Waukesha K9 police dog helped subdue him after police had employed a chemical agent to force Couture out of a bedroom and closer to the front door.
Police had made several previous attempts to convince to convince him to surrender.
Police used drones to locate both Couture and Lovejoy, who was seen lying motionless near the basement stairs. Her body was removed from the home prior to Couture's arrest. After executing a search warrant, police also found a semiautomatic gun and seven spent casings at the home.
According to court documents, Couture could potentially face a sentence of life in prison if he is convicted on the intentional homicide charge, which includes modifiers of domestic abuse and the use of a dangerous weapon. (The least serious charge was tied to a blood test at the hospital, which found he had a 0.45 blood alcohol concentration at that time.)
A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 2. Couture's Waukesha County Public Defenders Office attorney listed in court documents did not immediately return a phone call asking for comment on behalf of Couture.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com .
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha man, 24, charged with intentional homicide in grandmother's shooting death
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