19-year-old Onalaska man gets four-plus years for State Street shooting

A 19-year-old man was sentenced to four years, four months in prison for shooting at two people standing outside a house in La Crosse.

Ramon Washington was sentenced Monday. The Onalaska man had an attempted murder charge dropped in the plea agreement. This new sentence will be added to time he’s already serving for a home invasion in Vernon County.

“I heard the story about that,” Judge Todd Bjerke told Washington in court Monday, “where you go in and find this older lady and children, when you’re looking for drug dealers to rob, and you decide to just rob them anyway.”

The new prison term will be served after Washington completes six years for robbing the “older lady” and kids at a house in Vernon County, Bjerke spoke of.

Washington says he made a ‘foolish decision’ to shoot at Monica Thompson and her mother last year outside their State Street home.

Washington and Thompson had carried out a lingering feud, much of it on social media, apparently related to the 2015 shooting death of Central High School student George Miller.

“Mr. Miller’s dead,” Bjerke said. “Nobody can bring him back. But the feud can be stopped if people stop shooting at each other, stop arguing with each other.”

Washington reached a plea agreement in February, when the attempted murder charge was dismissed. Thompson is accused of making threats to harm Washington.

Bjerke said Washington knew he wasn’t supposed to possess a firearm, under bond conditions for previous crimes.

During a brief statement in court, Washington apologized for making ‘foolish decisions.’

“During my time that I’ve been incarcerated I learned I can’t blame others for my actions, only myself,” Washington said. “I also learned, I have to think before I act because at the end of the day, it falls on me.”