Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
Last Wednesday afternoon, 32-year-old Eric L. Moen of Wausau, accused of the November homicide of a Tomahawk man, entered a plea of Not Guilty by Mental Disease or Defect, during an arraignment hearing in Lincoln County Circuit Court.
According to court records, on Nov. 16, at approximately 5:47 p.m. officers of the Tomahawk Police Department responded to a reported shooting at 205 W. Mohawk Dr. Upon arrival, officers discovered a male identified as 52-year-old Charles Ramp had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Ramp was immediately transported to Ascension-Sacred Heart Hospital in Tomahawk where he died from injuries sustained in the shooting. Moen was identified as the lone shooter and according to witnesses, had waited for Ramp at Ramp’s residence for 15 minutes prior to Ramp’s arrival. When Ramp arrived at his residence, Moen asked Ramp to accompany him outside, telling him he had a problem with his vehicle. As Ramp approached Moen’s vehicle in the driveway, Moen retrieved a 20-gauge shotgun and shot Ramp five times until the gun was empty. Moen then fled the scene, but was later located and taken into custody near Lake Hallie in Chippewa County, and transported to the Lincoln County Jail.
Moen reportedly told investigators that he first thought about killing Ramp after lunch that afternoon. After arriving home from work around 4 p.m., Moen left his home in Wausau to go to Tomahawk. After stopping for gas near Merrill, he loaded the shotgun with five slugs and placed it in the back of his Ford Explorer. When he arrived in Tomahawk around 5 p.m., he went to Ramp’s residence but Ramp was not home. That is when he decided to wait for Ramp with members of Ramp’s family.
Moen remains in the custody of the Lincoln County Jail on $1 million cash bond.
His next court activity is set for a March 29 scheduling conference. Appointment of an examiner for Moen was deferred Wednesday and a motion by Moen’s defense attorney for a change of venue was noted by the court. If a change of venue is approved in the future, it would mean Moen’s case and subsequent trial would be relocated to another jurisdiction outside of Lincoln County.