Prosecutors say they’ll prove a Neenah man shot and killed a man in downtown Appleton, but defense attorneys say police arrested the wrong man. The murder trial for 30-year-old Chong Lee got underweay Friday morning with opening statements. Lee is facing a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 25-year-old Joshua Richards. The Green Bay man was shot in the head, in the entry area of the former Luna Lounge in December of 2013.
Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider says Lee’s brother Paul was in that entry area, and Lee intentionally went there, put a gun to Richards’ head, and pulled the trigger. Defense attorney Evan Weitz says Lee wasn’t the shooter. He says police initially treated Chong’s brother, Paul Lee, as the main suspect. Weitz says once Paul learned that, he told police that Chong did it.
Weitz says a police expert will testify about how Appleton police made some mistakes during their investigation. The trial is expected to last until the end of next week.
WHBY