In the early morning hours of February 8, 2021, a violent altercation unfolded inside a mobile home in Plover, Wisconsin, that would leave one man dead. Zachary James Deyo, a 28-year-old White male, was shot and killed during what police would later describe as an armed robbery attempt. The incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. at a residence in the Voigt Plover Meadows Mobile Home Park. Deyo, along with an accomplice, 31-year-old Benjamin C.
Smith, entered the home as uninvited guests where three people were present.
According to reports, Deyo and Smith proceeded to hold the three occupants at gunpoint, demanding a large sum of money they believed was in the home and taking their cell phones. During the home invasion, one of the male residents of the home was able to retrieve a handgun he had hidden. The resident then shot both Deyo and Smith. When police arrived at the scene, they found Deyo deceased. Smith had been injured and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Several others at the scene also sustained various injuries during the incident.
Following his release from the hospital, Benjamin C. Smith was taken into custody by the Plover police. He was subsequently charged with felony murder in connection with Deyo's death, along with three counts of armed robbery, three counts of false imprisonment, and three counts of aggravated battery. Smith later pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery, three counts of false imprisonment, and three counts of aggravated battery, and no contest to being a party to the crime of murder. For his role in the fatal home invasion, Smith was sentenced to 21 years in prison. The resident of the home who shot Deyo and Smith was not charged with any crime.
