Teenager who sparked manhunt faces three felonies

One of two teenagers accused of carjacking a vehicle at gunpoint in Sheboygan and then fleeing on I-43 at more than 100 mph to the Town of Belgium was charged with multiple felonies last week.

Dequan Rushing, 17, of Manitowoc, made his initial appearance in Sheboygan County Circuit Court on Nov. 11. He is charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety, armed carjacking and attempted armed carjacking, all as a party to the crimes.

He is being held at the Sheboygan County Detention Center in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Rushing allegedly committed the crimes with a 16-year-old from Sheboygan, who has not been charged in adult court but may face juvenile charges.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Nov. 9, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office notified the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office of a carjacking of a Buick Verano during which a firearm was displayed.

At around 6:17 p.m., a Sheboygan police officer responded to 15th Street and Union Avenue for a drive-by shooting. A call for a possible shooting in the 2300 block of South Eighth Street soon followed. Bullet holes were later found in a basement window on 14th Street and in a garage at the same address.

A man told police he was shot at while driving his 2020 silver Subaru.

He said a vehicle passed him on the right on Union Avenue before slowing down and turning right onto 14th Street. The suspect’s vehicle parked diagonally blocking his path. Two people exited the backseat and one began raising what the victim thought was a firearm. He quickly “put the metal down” and said he heard five gunshots as he sped away, ducking down to protect himself. He zigzagged through the streets before he stopped to call 911.

Police saw several bullet holes and damage to the vehicle from bullets, including a flat front left tire. A detective reported that if passengers had been in the passenger seat or right rear seat, they would have been shot.

At 6:33 p.m., an officer talked to a woman who said she was dropping off dinner in at a home in the 1300 block of North 15th Ave. She left her red 2015 Ford Edge running for about 30 seconds in the alley with her keys on the passenger seat.

When she returned to the car, another car entered the alley and a person exited it, raised a gun to her head and repeatedly said “Get out of the car.” She got out as the person with the gun got in. Another person got into the passenger seat and the car drove away.

A deputy later saw the two cars on I-43 traveling at speeds of up to 115 mph. He stayed with the Buick and lost sight of the Ford but later saw it exit at Highway D.

The Buick continued on I-43 and, along with the deputy’s car, ran over stop sticks near Cedar Beach Road in the Town of Belgium. Another officer joined the chase as speeds slowed to 55 mph since the car’s tires were deflating.

About a quarter of a mile north of Highway P, the driver lost control and the car entered a ditch. The driver exited and ran to the southwest. 

Inside the car, officers found a loaded 9mm handgun on the center console and a bright yellow sweatshirt in the trunk with the saying, “Always keep your mouth shut” on the back and a picture of an AK-47 shooting black hearts out of it on the front. On the passenger floor was a baseball cap with a green marijuana logo.

Another officer and a dog tracked the driver to several barns off Highway P,  through several cornfields west of Lake Church Road and finally to a barn south of Sandy Beach Road.

The dog put his paws on the roof of an overhang of the barn and, as the officer was giving commands heard someone say he didn’t have any guns. The person got off the roof and was arrested. He said the other person was gone, but after an officer went to the other side of the barn, a second suspect came from around the silo with his hands up.

After the two teenagers were arrested, they said things like “You ain’t got nothing on us,” “We gonna be out by tomorrow” and “We ain’t got any gun.”

An interview revealed that Rushing, the 16-year-old and two others were at Rushing’s home in Manitowoc. One of the people was upset his mother wouldn’t buy them new cell phones so they tried to get a ride to Milwaukee to get their own. Unsuccessful, they decided to carjack a vehicle in Manitowoc and ordered a female out of her car at gunpoint. Rushing had a handgun while another person had an AK-47-style rifle, according to the criminal complaint.

The four then drove to Sheboygan, tried to carjack another vehicle and shot at it as it drove away, the complaint states. They were successful in stealing a woman’s car on North 16th Street.

They then drove south on I-43, where Rushing and a 16-year-old were caught. 

The other vehicle wasn’t located.

Rushing’s preliminary hearing was to be held Wednesday, Nov. 18.