Gerson Alvarez-Franco, a 37-year-old man, was killed in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on September 28, 2020. He died alongside his 30-year-old cousin, Jaime Lemus, in a violent incident that claimed both their lives.
Around 8:30 p.m. that Monday evening, police were called to a home on Clement Street where they discovered the bodies of Mr. Alvarez-Franco and Mr. Lemus. Both men had been shot to death.
The investigation quickly pointed to another relative, 28-year-old Oscar Lemus-Franco, as the suspect in the double homicide.
After the killings, authorities tracked Oscar Lemus-Franco, leading to a high-speed car chase that reached 95 miles per hour before he crashed his vehicle in downtown Green Bay. He then fled on foot. As officers tried to arrest him, Lemus-Franco stabbed a Green Bay police officer in the face. The officer survived the attack.
Lemus-Franco was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the deaths of his relatives and reckless injury for the attack on the officer. He entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, often referred to as an insanity plea. The court proceedings were delayed several times over the next few years due to issues concerning his competency to stand trial and assist in his own defense.
In November 2023, Lemus-Franco pleaded no contest to the homicide and reckless injury charges, which resulted in his conviction. However, his insanity plea still required a jury trial to determine if he could be held criminally responsible for his actions. This trial would have focused on whether he was able to discern right from wrong at the time of the crimes.
Just before the trial was scheduled to begin, the prosecution and defense reached an agreement. On January 10, 2025, a judge approved the arrangement. The court accepted Lemus-Franco's insanity plea for the two murders but found him criminally responsible for attacking the officer. He was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for the officer's stabbing. Upon completion of that sentence, he will be committed to a secure psychiatric facility for the murders of Gerson Alvarez-Franco and Jaime Lemus. He was also placed on ten years of extended supervision, bringing the case to a close in January 2025.
