Just after 1 a.m. on June 11, 2020, shots rang out near Hill and Court Streets in Sparta, Wisconsin. Officers found 61-year-old Anthony Koopman, a male and White/Caucasian, gravely wounded; he was rushed to a La Crosse hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Early reports from police emphasized that the shooting appeared isolated, with no immediate threat to the wider public.
Investigators traced the violence to a planned drug transaction that drew three people from Milwaukee to
Koopman’s home. What began as a meeting in a car outside the residence devolved into a robbery attempt. When Koopman tried to flee, he was shot, a sequence later detailed in court proceedings. The case quickly came to center on the trip from Milwaukee, the intended deal, and the sudden turn to armed theft that ended in gunfire.
Within weeks, police announced arrests. Damara Skenandore-Medina, 28, was taken into custody and charged with felony murder in connection with the killing, alongside counts tied to armed robbery, methamphetamine distribution, and aiding a felon. Authorities stressed the drug-related nature of the encounter and suggested more arrests would follow as investigators coordinated with agencies in Milwaukee and at the state level.
By early August 2020, another development broke: a 38-year-old Milwaukee man—soon identified through subsequent filings as Michael Hartmann—was arrested on a probable charge of first-degree intentional homicide. Days later, a third suspect, 32-year-old Eric A. Borges, was also arrested in Milwaukee. Both were linked to the trip to Sparta and the attempted robbery surrounding the drug deal.
The prosecution unfolded over the next year. In November 2021, a Monroe County jury found Michael Hartmann guilty for killing Koopman. He was later sentenced to life in prison in February 2022, with additional consecutive terms for attempted robbery, drug delivery, and felon-in-possession charges. Skenandore-Medina reached a plea agreement on drug-related counts and received a prison term for aiding a felon and possessing drugs, while Borges initially pleaded not guilty and awaited separate proceedings.
What began as a clandestine meeting on a quiet Sparta street became a meticulous homicide investigation stretching from Monroe County to Milwaukee, culminating in convictions and a life sentence. The record that emerged—of a deal arranged, a robbery attempted, a victim trying to run, and a fatal shot—now defines the case of Anthony Koopman, anchoring a tragic episode in the community’s recent history.
