JANESVILLE – A Janesville man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for shooting and killing a man in an apartment building in December.
Deonte Foster, 42, also was sentenced in Rock County Circuit Court to 10 years of supervised release once his prison term is completed, according to a news release from the Rock County District Attorney's Office. Foster pleaded guilty last week to second-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon.
On Dec. 17, 2024, Foster was staying at an apartment building in Janesville. He and a neighbor got into a verbal dispute which ended when Foster shot the neighbor in the abdomen with a handgun. The victim was taken to a hospital and later died of his injuries.
Deonte L. Foster
A warrant was issued charging Foster with first-degree intentional homicide and felon in possession of a firearm.
Since Foster turned himself to police, additional witnesses have provided information to Janesville Police Department. The witness statements conflicted, somewhat, as to what degree Foster was defending himself from the neighbor, whose DNA was found on a large butcherÃÛèÖÊÓƵ knife.
While the new witness statements raised doubts about whether Foster was actually guilty of intentional homicide, assigned prosecutors Noah Tylenda and Bryce Becker maintained that Foster was still guilty of a type of reckless homicide. Foster agreed to plead guilty to the reckless homicide, the maximum sentence for which is 15 years initial prison, followed by 10 years extended supervision.
Foster must serve a minimum of eight years in a prison before he can participate in any treatment program that could release him to extended supervision.
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