Judge rules case about fatal shooting in downtown Appleton Christmas Eve should continue in court
APPLETON – An Outagamie County judge has ruled probable cause exists to continue court proceedings for a 20-year-old Racine man accused of fatally shooting a man in downtown Appleton on Christmas Eve.
Elliot Campbell appeared in court Thursday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the killing of 22-year-old Elijah Dodson, of Milwaukee.
At the hearing, Appleton Police Department Sgt. Matthew Kuether testified about details included in a criminal complaint. The complaint was filed Jan. 16, but sealed the following day, preventing it from being released publicly.
Just after 2 a.m. Dec. 24 on the sidewalk in the 100 block of South Walnut Street, around the intersection of Walnut Street and College Avenue, a fight broke out near a taco truck, Kuether said.
Appleton police officers patrolling the area noticed the disturbance. While one officer got out of his patrol vehicle to see what was going on, he heard gunshots and saw people fleeing the area. His body camera captured some of the incident, Kuether said.
Dodson was pronounced dead at a hospital, but had no signs of life when the first officers found him immediately after the shooting, Kuether said. He had two gunshot wounds to the back of his head.
Through reviewing footage from businesses, traffic cameras and the officer's body camera, investigators determined a fight broke out between two groups of people in line at the taco truck, Kuether said.
Multiple witnesses described the shooter as wearing clothes consistent with what officers believe Campbell was wearing earlier in the evening, in still photos taken from footage at OB's Brau Haus, 523 W. College Ave., where Campbell was determined to have been earlier in the night.
Witnesses who were present during the incident were not aware of anyone else involved having a gun, Kuether said.
No firearm was ever recovered, Kuether said.
In court Thursday, Campbell's defense attorney Jeremey Campshure questioned if investigators could be certain Campbell was the one to fire the gun, and if it was an intentional homicide.
Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Biskupic said the "execution-style" gunshots to the back of Dodson's head are "pretty compelling evidence of intent to kill," and there was more than enough evidence to bind the case over for trial.
Campbell's case will be moved to Judge Mitchell Metropulos' courtroom. Campbell has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 8, where he will be asked to enter a plea.
If convicted, Campbell faces a mandatory life sentence, with a judge determining if and when he will have eligibility for release from prison on extended supervision.
RELATED: Racine man charged in Christmas Eve homicide in downtown Appleton set for hearing Thursday
Kelli Arseneau can be reached at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Racine man in court for hearing in Appleton Christmas Eve homicide
