Man charged with attempted homicide in Jan. 14 Chippewa Falls shooting

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) - A Chippewa Falls man is charged in a shooting that happened Jan. 14 in downtown Chippewa Falls that left one woman hurt.

31-year-old Joshua Moggo received five felony and 14 misdemeanor charges, including 1st-degree attempted homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed on Monday in Chippewa County Circuit Court.

The other felony charges are 1st-degree reckless injury with the use of a dangerous weapon, burglary while armed with a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in bodily harm with the use of a dangerous weapon and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. The attempted homicide and stalking charges also were filed as domestic abuse charges.

Moggo also was charged with two counts of violating a restraining order, carrying a concealed knife, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal damage to property, two counts of disorderly conduct with one filed as domestic abuse and six counts of bail jumping.

The Chippewa Falls Police Department said in a release that at 8:20 p.m. on Jan. 14, they received two calls about a woman who had been shot in the abdomen at a home in downtown Chippewa Falls on Birch Street near the intersection with Bay Street. The woman and her two children were watching TV in the home with a roommate in another room of the residence when Moggo arrived, pointing a gun at the woman. The woman and the roommate were able to get the children to a different room before Moggo shot the woman and fled the home. Both of the callers reported that the shooter was Moggo, the ex-boyfriend of the woman who had been shot. When police arrived, they provided first aid to the woman while searching for Moggo, who police believe fled the scene before they arrived. The woman was taken to a hospital for her injuries.

Chippewa Falls and Lake Hallie police, as well as the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, began to search for Moggo. About two hours after the shooting happened, Moggo called from Pizza Hut in Chippewa Falls to turn himself in. The gun used in the shooting was found on the ground near the home in which the shooting occurred.

The Chippewa County DA’s Office said during a Jan. 17 bond hearing that Moggo shot the woman in her lower chest and upper stomach area, damaging her liver, stomach and bowels. Prosecutors said that when they took Moggo into custody, he was “laughing” about the incident and said that he shot the woman “in the heart.” Prosecutors added that it was fortunate that the woman was not shot in the heart, but still suffered serious internal injuries. Prosecutors during the bond hearing said that there were three children present at the time of the shooting.

According to the criminal complaint filed with the charges, the three children present included Moggo’s 8-year-old child and the woman’s roommate’s two children. The woman and the roommate were able to identify Moggo even though he was wearing a black ski mask before the shooting. The court document also states that on Dec. 31, 2022, Moggo attempted to break down the door to the home and got into an argument with the woman regarding their child, and got into a fight with the roommate, who had intervened after the argument escalated. The roommate was able to lock Moggo out of the home. Moggo returned to the home and had kicked in the back door, completely removing the door frame on the latch side. Moggo was arrested on Jan. 1 and claimed he did not damage the door or fight with anyone, but after being told that a neighbor’s residence had cameras, admitted he kicked the door in.

Moggo was ordered to be held on a $1 million cash bond with conditions of maintaining absolute sobriety, having no possession of drugs or weapons, and to have no contact with the victim, her residence or her children. Moggo is being held at the Chippewa County Jail.

The attempted homicide charge alone carries a lifetime prison sentence if convicted. The other four felony charges without the enhancers combined have a 62 and a half year maximum prison sentence and a maximum fine of $200,000 if convicted. In 2015, Moggo was arrested in Altoona as the suspect in an Amber Alert for his own child and pleaded no contest and was found guilty of kidnapping. Moggo was convicted of disorderly conduct-domestic abuse in 2014 and has an open case for disorderly conduct-domestic abuse in Chippewa County, according to online court records. These cases were referenced by prosecutors during Moggo’s bond hearing. Moggo will appear in Chippewa County Circuit Court Tuesday morning.