In the late hours of a Wednesday night, the quiet subdivision near the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus in Somers, Wisconsin, was shattered by the sound of gunfire. It was May 16, 2007, when Frank Fabiano Jr., a 48-year-old White male and a decorated deputy with the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, conducted a traffic stop. This seemingly routine stop escalated into a tragedy that would end a life dedicated to service. Fabiano, an 18-year veteran of the department and a former U.S.
Marine, was shot by the driver of the vehicle he had pulled over. A backup officer from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Police Department witnessed the shooting and returned fire as the suspect fled into the nearby woods.
The wounded deputy was rushed to St. Catherine's Hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal. Frank Fabiano Jr. died in the early hours of May 17, 2007. His death sparked an intense, three-hour manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including two police helicopters and six canine teams. The search culminated in the capture of the suspect, 44-year-old Ezequiel Lopez-Quintero, at an apartment complex about 15 blocks from the scene of the shooting.
Lopez-Quintero was charged with first-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon. During his trial, which was moved to Racine County due to the extensive news coverage in Kenosha County, his defense argued that he was too intoxicated to have formed the intent to kill. The prosecution countered this claim, and after deliberating for about three and a half hours, the jury found Ezequiel Lopez-Quintero guilty. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. The court proceedings brought some measure of closure to Fabiano's family, which included his wife and their young daughter.
