34-year-old New Berlin man charged in connection with town of Grafton homicide
A New Berlin man has been arrested and charged in connection with a town of Grafton homicide that occurred in March.
Miguel Aponte, 34, was arrested Sept. 26 in Milwaukee, according to a news release from the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department.
Aponte was charged with a number of felonies in the death of 49-year-old Laeng Sanavongsay, including being party to a crime of first-degree intentional homicide - use of a dangerous weapon, party to a crime of false imprisonment, party to a crime of attempting to disfigure a corpse, and bail jumping, according to a criminal complaint filed Sept. 28 in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.
“This appears to have been a targeted attack and an isolated incident,” the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department said in March. “It is believed that the suspect in this case knew or had a connection to the victim. There is no threat to the public.”
According to the complaint:
The morning of March 4, 2023, an officer on patrol found a parked car off the roadway on the east side of Highway C south of Tallgrass Drive. Soot markings tarnished the windows and smoke residue obscured the interior.
Sanavongsay was found deceased inside. A March autopsy revealed he died as a result of a gunshot wound.
The investigation revealed the interior of the vehicle was on fire for a short period of time before it extinguished itself.
Investigators also learned that Sanavongsay had rented the car the previous day at Chicago O’Hare International Airport after he’d flown from Texas.
The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office obtained warrants for cell tower data that aligned with the movements of the car, which contained a tracker. Investigators identified a device with movements consistent with the car’s and traced the top caller, a woman Aponte was in a relationship with and lived with.
Results of DNA samples obtained from the car also indicated Aponte as a suspect.
In an interview with a detective, Aponte admitted to being with Sanavongsay the night he was killed but denied being present for the homicide or ever being in the car with Sanavongsay.
The bail jumping charges stem from Aponte being charged previously with the felony offense of manufacturing or delivering over 40 grams of cocaine and violating his bail, according to records from Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Aponte is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 13 in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @levensc13.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Berlin man charged in connection with a town of Grafton murder
