RACINE, Wis. (AP) - A Milwaukee man accused of fatally shooting a police officer at a bar in Racine last year can be connected to the crime by solid DNA evidence, a prosecutor said Tuesday in the opening day of trial for Dalquavis Ward.
Ward, 27, faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the death of John Hetland, a 24-year police department veteran. Hetland was off-duty when he tried to intervene in a robbery at Teezers Bar and Grill in June 2019.
Investigators said Ward shot Hetland once, killing him, before fleeing on foot.
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley described surveillance showing a struggle between Hetland and a masked man and told the jury that Ward’s DNA was found in four separate locations.
“You will see the last 13 seconds of John Hetland’s life,” Graveley said. “I will submit to you now, those seconds will stay with you because ultimately, they reveal what this defendant is willing to do.”
Charles Glynn, Ward’s attorney, questioned the various suspect descriptions provided by witnesses and said Ward played no part in the robbery and killing, WITI-TV reported.
“What’s not true is that the person that went in there is Mr. Ward,” Glynn said.
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