Suspect in death of woman from Loda pleads innocent

KENOSHA, Wis. – A Wisconsin man accused of running over a former Loda resident with a car last month after she fell off the vehicle's hood pleaded innocent to charges of homicide by negligent driving and hit-and-run involving death Wednesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court.

A jury trial for Thomas J. Sillcocks, 37, of Kenosha, Wis., could be scheduled during a final pretrial hearing to be held at 9 a.m. May 22 in Judge S. Michael Wilk's courtroom, said Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Mark Dooley.

Meanwhile, Kenosha attorney Jason Rossell, who has been appointed by the court to defend Sillcocks, said Wednesday that the state has offered a plea agreement that would allow the homicide charges to be dropped if Sillcocks pleads guilty to hit-and-run involving death.

Sillcocks has not decided yet ton the offer, Rossell said.

Sillcocks was charged with the two felonies following an April 17 accident that caused the death of Ashley C. Marcotte, 20, a former Loda resident and 2006 Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School graduate living in Kenosha. Sillcocks was allegedly driving a car that was carrying Ms. Marcotte on its hood when she fell off and was run over, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. Sillcocks then allegedly left the scene.

Ms. Marcotte died three days later.

The accident allegedly happened after Ms. Marcotte and her boyfriend, Michael Pilsner, had been drinking at a tavern with Sillcocks and a woman identified in the complaint as Rebecca Lucas, both co-workers of Ms. Marcotte at Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha.

After leaving the tavern around 1 a.m., they went together to a restaurant for breakfast, the complaint said. Sillcocks then drove Ms. Marcotte and her boyfriend to their apartment. There, Ms. Marcotte and Pilsner got out of the 1998 Ford Contour, owned by Lucas, and then Ms. Marcotte jokingly climbed on its hood without thinking the car would be moved, the complaint said.

Ms. Marcotte told police after the accident that Sillcocks "took off" and that she tried to hold on but could not, the police report said. She was then pulled under the vehicle. She then yelled for her boyfriend, who also had climbed on the hood of the car but was not injured.

Pilsner told police that Sillcocks "drove off fast" from the scene. Marcotte told police Sillcocks probably left the scene because he had been drinking, according to the complaint.

Police found Sillcocks at his place of employment, and Sillcocks repeatedly denied that he was driving. He said he also had no knowledge of the accident, according to the complaint.

Lucas, however, then told police that Sillcocks was driving when the accident happened and was driving "rather recklessly," the complaint said. Sillcocks remained in custody Wednesday at the Kenosha County jail on $100,000 bond.

A benefit for Ms. Marcotte's family is being planned for May 24 at Boone's Firehouse in Rankin.

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