TOP STORIES OF 2017 – No. 2: Obregon gets life

Andrew Obregon (right), shown her in a Jan. 2016 hearing in Kenosha County Circuit Court with attorney Carl Johnson, received a life sentence last April for a 22-day crime spree through multiple counties in 2015 (Jason Arndt File Photo/The Report).

By Jason Arndt
Editor

More than a year after Andrew Obregon changed the way residents in Kenosha County operated on a daily basis during a 22-day spree in 2015, which included murder, the Brighton man took a stunning plea just before the start of his January jury trial.

“This was a complete shock to us, we didn’t know this was going to happen,” Sheriff David Beth said at a Jan. 27 news conference.

Obregon, who initially faced 28 felony charges, allegedly robbed two convenience stores, stole several vehicles and eluded capture multiple times since authorities discovered the remains of 37-year-old Tywon Anderson in a Town of Paris cornfield in Sept. 2015.

While Obregon pleaded guilty to killing Anderson, who was his purported drug dealer, he also pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted homicide stemming from his role in a beating of a Brighton woman, felony armed robbery along with three counts of eluding/fleeing an officer.

Before Obregon took the plea, he faced life in prison plus 435 years in prison, but instead, he could serve life imprisonment plus 150 years.

Obregon, who was caught by a Zion, Ill. police K9 unit after his last attempt to flee prosecution, was also involved in high speed chases in Racine County.

At his April 4 sentencing hearing, Obregon filed a motion to reconsider the plea agreement, but was rejected by Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Chad Kerkman.

Kerkman then sentenced Obregon to life in prison, which sparked a verbal outburst by Obregon inside the courtroom, where many heard him shout profanities.

Kenosha County District Michael Graveley, who presided the case since the complaint was filed in Oct. 2015, believes Obregon’s sentencing brings closure to residents in both Racine and Kenosha counties.

“I am just relieved that we were able to get what I consider justice in this case. To me, this was a once in a generation crime spree and the sentence reflected the impact it had in Western Kenosha County,” Graveley said after the April 4 sentencing hearing.


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