Hicke enters plea agreement on lesser charge in shooting death at La Crosse apartments

A 19-year-old man, accused in the shooting death of a 15-year-old, reached a plea agreement Monday to a lesser charge.

Sage Hicke pleaded no contest to intimidation of a witness and may be sentenced to probation with electronic monitoring for that crime.

A first-degree murder charge was among the counts dismissed as part of the agreement.

Hicke has argued self-defense in shooting two teenagers, who went to a La Crosse apartment building in May of 2022 to confront him.

Hicked killed Storm Vondrashek and wounded Jackson Greengrass in the shooting.

Hicke’s defense attorney, Andrew Martinez, said in court Monday that it was clear that Vondrashek and Greengrass put his client in danger, and that led Hicke to use deadly force.

Vondrashek’s mother spoke during the plea hearing, arguing that Hicke lacks remorse, and that he could easily have avoided a confrontation with the victims if he had stayed inside a locked apartment building.

Hicke was scheduled to go on trial next week. He’ll be sentenced in October.