Holmen man gets 20 year prison term from shootout with La Crescent police

Both of the Wisconsin men accused of shooting at La Crescent police officers a year ago have now been sentenced to prison.

Wyatt Helfrich of Holmen was sentenced Tuesday in Houston County court to 20 years in prison — 10 years each on two counts of assaulting an officer.

An attempted murder charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement.

The other suspect, William Wallraff of Trempealeau, received a 13-year sentence in April. Both were 19 years old at the time of the incident.

The incident began around 1:30 a.m. July 31, 2017, when La Crescent police officers saw the two men behaving suspiciously at the 3rd St. Kwik Trip in town.

The two fired shots at La Crescent police officers Ryan Quanrud and Christopher Frick during the traffic stop.

After, they took off, reaching speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, as police pursued from La Crescent, through Hokah and to Caledonia.

During the chase, Helfrich, driving, would slow down to lure the squad car closer, so Wallraff could shoot at the officers.

They were stopped with spike strips and crashed into a ditch on Hwy. 44 in Caledonia.

The two tried to run — leaving behind a shotgun, another rifle and ammunition — but soon surrendered.

 Below is the dash cam from the chase.

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