Plea Deal Nixed for Man Who Allegedly Threw a Queer Woman Into a Fire
Above: The accused attacker, Shane Nolan (in light blue), in courtA Wisconsin man accused of a brutal anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime will stand trial in February after a judge rejected a plea bargain the man had reached with prosecutors.Shane Nolan is accused of throwing a queer woman, Dessiray Koss, into a live fire and attempting to strangle her, while using an anti-LGBTQ+ slur, in July 2021.
He was charged with felony substantial battery and misdemeanor disorderly conduct, and hate-crime penalties were added to both.
He was working as a prison guard at the time, but his employment ended in November.Nolan, now 31, and his legal team had negotiated a plea deal with Brown County District Attorney David Lasee in which he was charged with three misdemeanors and there were no hate-crime enhancements.
But Judge Kendall Kelley dismissed the plea agreement Tuesday, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports.“A trial poses a significant risk that the matter will not turn out as hoped for or as expected by the victim … but I am going to decline to accept the amended information today,” Kelley said, according to the paper.The attack took place in the early morning hours of July 3, 2021.
