Ramone Waupoose (Brown Co. Jail)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The prosecution of Ramone Waupoose, who allegedly tried to kill his mother with a hedge trimmer because she deleted rap videos on his phone, will stay in adult court, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Waupoose, now 17, is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless injury for the July 16, 2025, attack in Suamico.
In Wisconsin, those between 10 and 16 years old facing most homicide-related counts are charged in adult court, not juvenile court. However, Waupoose’s defense invoked a mechanism to request his case be moved to juvenile court. Such requests are not automatic and require a judge’s approval. It’s referred to as a reverse waiver hearing.
While 17-year-olds are charged in adult court, Waupoose was charged when he was 16. At a previous hearing, the court and attorneys agreed the reverse waiver could continue, even though he turned 17 on May 2, as some services offered in the juvenile system would still be available
At a hearing Tuesday, Dr. Greg Van Rybroek, who has worked in state psychiatric settings, testified he believed Waupoose would be best served by the structure and services available in juvenile facilities, which aren’t available in adult prison. Waupoose would be less likely to re-offend if treated in the juvenile system. Van Rybroek said keeping him in juvenile court would not unduly depreciate the seriousness of the crime.
Nicole Waupoose, Ramone’s mother and the victim, urged the court to send the case to juvenile court.
“I feel my son will get the best treatment in juvenile court,” she said.
Assistant District Attorney Kim Hardtke noted the presumption is for the case to be in adult court, and that there are still treatment options available in the adult court system.
Judge Beau Liegeois said the five years of treatment Waupoose could get in the juvenile system was “inadequate” given the seriousness of the offense and his treatment needs – which Van Rybroek said would extend beyond that time.
A status conference was scheduled for Oct. 27.
According to the criminal complaint, Nicole Waupoose called police because her son, who she described as autistic, had attacked her. Knowing he may be upset, and for his protection, she had taken all of the knives out of the house and put them in her car.
“Ramone was [super uber uber] pissed that he was snatched back after running away. He was also mad that I had deleted rap videos off of his YouTube. He went to bed Monday night and I was on his phone trying to figure out the parental controls. He came up and grabbed the phone from my hands and went to lock himself in his room downstairs,” the woman’s statement says. “Ramone went back to his room and I again texted him about going to eat and asked if he was going to come. He replied back ‘no’. I told him to not leave the house and I monitored him through the cameras. I could tell that he was very angry. When he ate he was pacing like a caged tiger. His behavior got creepier after we got home then started to gather up all the knives, any sharp kitchen utensils or anything sharp. I also took the drill, hammers and screw drivers and locked them in my car,” the complaint states.
“I watched the cameras and saw Ramone go to the garage and was searching for something. He was looking around the toolbox and a mattress that was leaned up next to it. His whole behavior really freaked me out. The sheers he found must have been behind the mattress. At this time I was more concerned that Ramone was going to hurt himself than us. I never thought he would run away, much less attack us,” it adds.
After the lights starting turning on and off in the house, the woman found Waupoose by the power box. He allegedly called her names and attacked her with the pruning shears. She said she used a garbage can to defend herself before she escaped. The woman was bleeding from the face and suffered injuries on her head, face, arms and back, authorities said. Police located two-foot pruning shears at the scene.
Police also recovered Waupoose’s phone and found messages describing his plans to kill his mother and messages threatening to “kill and gut his ex-girlfriend,” the complaint states.
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