A man who admitted causing the death of Gilbert Cotton in Racine has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree reckless homicide.
Jimmy Mumper, 30, was originally charged with first-degree intentional homicide. He entered a guilty plea to the lesser offence in July, before a Racine County judge imposed a further three years of extended supervision.
Mumper was given credit for more than a year already spent in custody and ordered to pay more than $21,000 in restitution.
Cotton, 25, was shot near the junction of 17th Street and Packard Avenue on the night of 18 January 2023. Racine police found him on the floor with what appeared to be a fatal gunshot wound when they arrived.
According to the criminal complaint, two witnesses identified Mumper as the shooter. Investigators were told the incident arose from a domestic dispute.
Earlier reporting by Wisconsin public radio station WGTD said Mumper claimed his gun had gone off accidentally. He acknowledged drawing the weapon while attempting to intervene in a physical confrontation, but denied deliberately pulling the trigger.
Mumper fled the apartment before officers arrived and was arrested shortly afterwards. The firearm was recovered the following day after investigators said he had thrown it from a vehicle while driving away.
