Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Federal prosecutors are declining to press charges in the death of 48-year-old David Hawpetoss, whose body was found along a road this summer on the Menominee reservation.
Family members said investigators have concluded that Hawpetoss was drunk and had cocaine in his system when he laid down on the road and then was run over by a passing vehicle.
Officials in the U.S. attorney’s office in Milwaukee said the investigation showed that the motorist whose vehicle struck Hawpetoss was driving legally and did not intend to hit him.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Whittemore said the circumstances surrounding Hawpetoss’ death were accidental.
“There was no evidence of wrongdoing, criminal intent or reckless behavior,” Whittemore said. “It was a tragic accident.”
The federal government handles any Menominee tribal case that potentially involves felony charges, because Wisconsin state courts have no jurisdiction on the Native American reservation north of Shawano.
The U.S. attorney’s decision not to press charges means that the motorist — who has not yet been identified publicly — will not face any felony charges and might escape prosecution entirely if Menominee tribal prosecutors decline to press any misdemeanor charges.
Hawpetoss family members said they are dissatisfied with the criminal investigation and they do not believe their loved one’s death has been explained adequately.
“I don’t buy it,” the victim’s mother, Jill Johnson, said of the police version of events.
Johnson cited rumors that the unidentified motorist involved in the incident has personal associations in the Menominee Tribal Police Department. Hawpetoss family members, she said, are determined to learn the entire story surrounding her son’s death.
“I’m not going to give up,” she said. “He has a right to justice.”
Menominee Police Chief Mark K. Waukau Sr. has denied rumors of police involvement, although he has declined to explain what he means by that.
Contacted about the federal prosecutor’s decision not to press charges, Waukau said he supports the determination that there was no criminal intent involved. Waukau declined to comment further, saying he was waiting to see if tribal prosecutors would pursue misdemeanor charges.
The Menominee County medical examiner has not yet released autopsy results in the case.
Hawpetoss, a tribal member who lived in Gresham, was found injured about 4:15 a.m. July 25 on old South Branch Road north of Keshena. He was pronounced dead a short time later, and police sought the public’s assistance in finding a suspected hit-and-run driver.
Police reported locating a suspect vehicle a few days later, indicating at the time they they would be questioning people of interest in the investigation.
Almost nothing has been disclosed publicly about the investigation since that time, although police officials and prosecutors have briefed Hawpetoss family members privately.
Family members said police have told them that the driver left the scene of the accident because he did not realize he ran over a person.
Joleen Hawpetoss, the victim’s sister, said she suspects the motorist left the scene because he was intoxicated. Police told the family that the motorist admitted to drinking that night, Hawpetoss said, and she believes investigators failed to pursue that issue sufficiently.
Investigators have “played their little games” to cover for the suspect, Hawpetoss said.
“The young man admitted that he was drinking and got into the vehicle,” she said. “If that isn’t criminal intent, I don’t know what is.”