Gunman gets 40 years for attempted murder, armed robbery By Jessica La Plante News-Chronicle When handing down a 40-year sentence to a Green Bay man convicted of attempted murder and armed robbery, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Peter Naze said the mere fact a misloaded gun failed its owner shouldn't be rewarded with a reduced penalty. At a sentencing hearing Monday, Naze ordered 22-year-old Wayne Cornelius to spend the next two decades in prison, followed by another two decades on extended supervision for an attempted shooting that occurred in fall 2002. According to a criminal complaint, Cornelius tried to rob and kill a pair of Bellevue brothers at their apartment building during the early morning hours of Oct. 15, 2002, under the guise of a drug deal. Prosecutors said Cornelius was tackled and beaten up by the victims after he pointed at them a gun that failed to fire. After listening to two days of testimony in September, a Brown County jury found Cornelius guilty of one count of attempted murder and two counts of attempted armed robbery. While defense attorney Mark Rosen argued that the misloaded gun was proof his client was a novice offender who was inexperienced with firearms, prosecutors alleged the handgun demonstrated a progressive pattern of violence. Asking for a 40-year sentence, Brown County District Attorney John Zakowski pointed to a prior conviction where Cornelius committed attempted armed robbery with a knife. Zakowski said Cornelius's decision to respond to a victim's verbal challenge by pulling the trigger of a loaded handgun multiple times during the 2002 attack showed a pattern of increasing violence. Rosen protested the assertion his client was a habitual criminal, calling Cornelius "young and immature," but not violent. He said Cornelius committed the offense while under the influence of alcohol and co-defendant Daniel Webster, who was convicted of helping arrange the 2002 heist. Cornelius' father - Wayne Cornelius Sr. - said his son possessed a suggestible, but gentle heart. He criticized the sentence proposed by prosecutors, arguing that the DAs office recommended a much lighter penalty for Webster. "I know Daniel Webster, he's my nephew," Wayne Cornelius Sr. said, alleging that Webster was the real mastermind behind the crime and "my son just happened to be in the middle of all this." In November, Webster pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery for his role in the Oct. 15 attack. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend a 10-year prison sentence when Webster returns to court later this month. Explaining the discrepancies in the sentences, Zakowski said the act of attempted murder is what distinguishes the two criminal defendants. "Mr. Cornelius was sentenced for not only his direct involvement in the robbery, but the fact that he pointed a gun and pulled the trigger at (the victims)," Zakowski said. "I think Webster's role was limited to helping set up the robbery Š I don't think he ever anticipated that anyone would be shot at inside." Ultimately, Naze sided with prosecutors, rejecting the theory that if it were not for alcohol and a co-defendant's influence, Cornelius would not have committed the October 2002 shooting and robbery attempt. "Mr. Cornelius went over there with the purpose of breaking the law - encouraged by Daniel Webster - but (nonetheless) of his own free will," Naze said. "The fact that he already has one conviction of attempted armed robbery is a clear indication that he's willing to take other people's property at the point of a weapon."