Former Green Bay prison guard found guilty of throwing woman into fire, acquitted of hate-crime charges

GREEN BAY – The ex-prison guard accused of attacking a woman by calling her a derogatory term for LGBTQ+ people, throwing her into an active fire pit and attempting to strangle her was found guilty of two charges without hate-crime enhancers Thursday.

Shane Nolan, 32, of Green Bay, was charged with felony substantial battery and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Nolan was acquitted of both hate-crime enhancer charges.

The maximum penalty for felony substantial battery is 3½ years of confinement, with 1½ years in custody and then two years in extended supervision. It could also mean a fine of $10,000 in place of or in addition to prison time.

The maximum penalty for misdemeanor disorderly conduct is 90 days in custody or $1,000.

Because Nolan was charged with both, he can potentially serve time on a consecutive basis for both crimes.

Dessiray Koss, 32, suffered third-degree burns to her upper right arm, as well as burns and injuries to her left wrist and chin. The injuries left permanent scars that cause Dessiray Koss shooting pain at random, a condition that may never go away.

The jury deliberated for more than an hour before reaching its verdicts. Because this was a criminal case, the jury was required to come to a unanimous decision.

The jury heard two days of testimony, with both the prosecution and defense resting their cases Thursday morning.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee finished up its prosecution case at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday before turning it over to the defense case. Nolan chose to testify on his own behalf.

Nolan testimony

One of the linchpins in Lasee's cross-examination was Nolan's willingness to lie to both his employer, the Green Bay Correctional Institution, and his girlfriend about the nature of his injuries in the aftermath of the incidents that night.

Nolan had called out sick from work the next day, claiming he fell off his four-wheeler the night before. It's the same excuse he used with his girlfriend to explain his injuries.

"You're willing to lie to prevent something bad from happening to you?" Lasee asked Nolan during cross-examination, to which Nolan confirmed he lied because he feared losing his job.

"Likewise, you don't want to be found guilty today," Lasee responded.

In his testimony, Nolan said he couldn’t remember the exact details of the evening. He repeated his conviction that he regained consciousness when he was being beaten by multiple people.

Following the incident, Nolan believed it was his friend, Escoto, who had caused a fight to break out, for which he took the beating. As they walked home, they argued about it.

"I had confronted him. I was just angry and confused. I didn't know what was going on, so I asked him if he had anything to do with it, was I set up for some reason, things like that," Nolan said.  "We were argumentative. Then we split ways. He walked across the street and we walked our separate ways."

He also stated he would never use a slur like the one he was accused of using against Dessiray Koss, noting "it's a core value of mine" to never utter such a word. Nolan noted growing up he was taught in school to find synonyms for certain derogatory words when referring to something as preposterous.

He believed schooling, plus his training from the Green Bay Correctional Institution and working with the people within his care ingrained in him a sense of respect and dignity for LGBTQ+ people.

Nolan answered to the affirmative when defense attorney Robinson asked him if he has friends and family members who identify as LGBTQ+, most notably Nolan's own sister. During his time as a prison guard, he told Robinson he worked regularly with men who were either gay or transgender.

During cross-examination, however, Lasee questioned this adherence to his moral code. Lasee referenced jail phone conversations in which Nolan, in his attempt to piece together what happened early July 3, offered the possibility to both his girlfriend and his sister he "probably said 'This is gay as hell' and somebody took offense to that."

"You said, 'I probably said I wanna leave this gay ass place'. But of course, you would never use inappropriate language, right?" Lasee said.

In response, Nolan said, typically, he wouldn't say such a thing.

DA's closing arguments

In their closing arguments, both prosecuting attorney David Lasee and defense attorney Nila Robinson argued the truth is clear — depending on whose arguments jury chose to believe.

But using sound judgment on a night characterized by intoxication and a sudden violent turn is its own feat.

In his closing arguments, Lasee emphasized, regardless of any inconsistencies in certain details, the key elements of the incidents on July 2 and 3, 2021, remained the same. The state witnesses who saw the incident testified that Nolan used derogatory slurs before throwing Dessiray Koss into an active fire pit and attempting to strangle her.

Lasee argued the smaller details don't negate the outcomes of the evening. He implored the jury to consider their own experiences with trauma and whether they remember the minutia of those experiences.

Lasee argued Nolan's intention to harm a protected class comes down to Nolan using this homophobic slur and directing his aggression toward Dessiray Koss, the person for whom that slur would cause the most harm.

Lasee also pointed to Nolan's own admission that he was "black out drunk" and could only recollect select moments of the evening — most notably, regaining consciousness during his scuffle with Dessiray Koss and her sister, Danielle. Lasee asked the jury to consider the convenience of recalling events only when they serve his innocence.

"There's a difference between being unable to recall details and intentionally obfuscating details, potentially preventing you from hearing the details that are not favorable to him," Lasee told the jury.

Additionally, Lasee raised a reality that had come up multiple times during the trial: Dessiray Koss' distrust of the criminal justice system when it comes to her status as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

He questioned what reason Dessiray Koss, in that context, would have for upending her life and her friends' lives in order to falsely accuse someone who was a stranger to her.

"(Dessiray Koss) said she isn't comfortable with law enforcement, yet she's going to report a crime, come and sit in front of a jury just to get a guy in trouble who she doesn't know from Adam?" Lasee told the jury. "What on earth would be her motive to falsify this allegation?"

Defense attorney closing remarks

In her closing argument, defense attorney Robinson told the jury, in fact, the inconsistencies within the state witness testimonies did matter. She described them as "a seamless, beautiful web," suggesting such an unfolding of evidence required a level of coordination and fabrication.

Robinson said those testimonies over the last day and a half looked nothing like the written statements captured nearly three years ago. What was true, Robinson said, is the women involved used the preceding story as a way of justifying the fight in which they "pounded the holy bejesus out of (Nolan)."

In contrast, Robinson said Nolan's testimony over the last day and a half has remained consistent with his written statement nearly three years ago.

Robinson also questioned why Dessiray Koss omitted the accusation that Nolan attempted to strangle her from both her written statement to the police nearly three years ago and her testimony. She also questioned why this injury wouldn't have been included in the doctor's medical reports.

Finally, Robinson noted to the jury Nolan had a transgender colleague who worked with him at Green Bay Correctional Institution. Nolan's former colleague testified earlier Thursday to say he and Nolan were friendly at work, sharing stories of strength and overcoming challenges.

Key moments of testimony

The length of time between the incident and the jury trial challenged the recollection of specific details of what took place July 2 and 3, 2021. Notably, eyewitness accounts contradicted the number of people around the bonfire when Dessiray Koss says she was thrown into her firepit.

There was also the question of whether an unknown third man involved himself in the scuffle following Dessiray Koss being thrown in the fire. State witnesses deny any other men at the bonfire besides Nolan and his friend, Matthew Escoto.

Defense witness Escoto claimed a man, possibly Dessiray Koss' brother, was sitting with her at the bonfire when they arrived.

But the third man's presence didn't seem to count for much by the time attorneys got to their closing remarks.

According to Kelli Peterson's testimony, a friend of Dessiray Koss, she was the only other person around the bonfire when Escoto, Nolan, Dessiray Koss' sister Danielle and Danielle's friend arrived after midnight.

When Dessiray Koss' then-girlfriend Vanessa Denasha was brought up to testify, she offered a sober account of what happened after Dessiray was thrown into the fire. Dessiray, who was sitting on the toilet, had a towel wrapped around her arm. When Denasha went to remove the towel to inspect the burn, the towel stuck to parts of her upper arm. That, to Denasha, indicated the severity of the burns enough to suggest going to the hospital.

Nolan's sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. June 7.

Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her Twitter profile at @natalie_eilbert. If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Former Green Bay prison guard found guilty of throwing woman into fire,