GUILTY: Engen convicted on all four counts in 2016 shooting death

By Brandi Makuski

Accused murder Kyle Engen on Friday was convicted on all four counts against him in the 2016 shooting death of a former UWSP student. 

Engen, 32 of Marshall, Wis., has been behind bars on a $100,000 cash bond after being arrested in Colorado and transported by U.S. Marshals back to Wisconsin two years ago. Engen eluded authorities for more than a month following the March 17, 2016 shooting of former UW-Stevens Point student Deonta Lezine, 21, during a drug deal gone bad near the UW-Stevens Point campus.

Lezine, a native of Racine, Wis., spent several days on life support before succumbing to his wounds on March 25, 2016. Engen is the only suspect in Lezine’s death.

The trial, which began Monday, saw testimony from several witnesses, including Engen himself, who argued he shot in self-defense. The jury was not persuaded, returning with their decision in just under three hours on March 2. 

Lezine’s friends and family hugged each other and wept as Judge Thomas Eagon read the guilty verdict on three counts of second-degree intentional homicide and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He faces up to 140 years behind bars.

His sentencing date was not immediately scheduled.