LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Onalaska teen Efraim Ko, 17, posted a $5,000 cash bond Friday a day after being arrested on referred charges of attempted homicide and armed robbery.Â
Prosecutors Friday asked Judge Ramona Gonzalez to set a $10,000 bond because they said Ko fled to Indiana after the alleged incident and is a flight risk.
Ko's attorney said Ko is a good student with no priors. She added Ko left soon after the incident to travel with a family member seeking citizenship to Georgia, and they stopped for a night in Indiana.
Gonzalez set a $5,000 cash bond, which Ko later posted. Ko will also be under GPS house arrest and cannot have any contact with the alleged victims.
According to police, Ko went to a house on Avon Street on Friday, May 12th, where he pulled out a gun and demanded that people in the house give him anything valuable.
He told one of the victims to get on the ground while holding them at gunpoint and then kicked and started strangling the victim.
Two people in the home got into a fight with Ko to get him to stop. Ko warned the victims he would shoot, and then fired the gun. The bullet missed one of the victims.
Ko stole several items from the home and then ran away.
Ko eventually turned himself into police. His preliminary hearing is set for May 26.
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Ken is ecstatic to work in his home state of Wisconsin. After graduating from UW-Madison in 2017 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he got his career started in Sports. He spent two years as a Weekend Sports Anchor at the CBS affiliate station in Bismarck, North Dakota, and then spent the last three years as WKBT’s Sports Director. Ken is humbled and excited to be promoted to News Anchor at 5, 6, and 10, and while he won’t be anchoring sports anymore, he’ll still be following all Wisconsin sports teams and Coulee Region high school athletics. Ken and his wife Leah love the La Crosse area and are excited to stick around WKBT and keep working on their house!
Favorite band: It varies by day. He’d say he’s pretty eclectic.
Favorite movie: Inception
Family: Wife Leah and their two dogs: 2-year-old black Lab named Bear, and 3-month old golden retriever named Bella.
Pizza: Pepperoni and bacon
Sports teams: All Wisconsin teams, especially the Brewers and Packers
Thing he’s bad at: Drawing, or basically anything you’d do in Art class
Favorite way to spend a day off?: Playing tennis with Leah, having some fun meals, and then spending time together with the puppies
