Background: A section of Delafield Street in Waukesha, Wisconsin (Google Maps). Inset left: Ronnie Fuentez (Waukesha County Jail). Inset right: Adam Thompson (Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home).
A Wisconsin teenager beat and killed his uncle when the older man wouldn't let the boy's friend sleep over at their home, a jury has ruled.
Ronnie Fuentez was found guilty on Thursday of felony murder caused by battery in the death of 46-year-old Adam Thompson, Waukesha County court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. He was also found guilty of misdemeanor bail jumping.
On Feb. 1, 2025, Fuentez, who was 17 years old at the time, and Thompson were at their shared apartment on Delafield Street in Waukesha, located just west of Milwaukee. They had been living together for about four years, according to a criminal complaint.
At about 10 p.m., the nephew and uncle were arguing about Fuentez having a friend sleep over, with Thompson later stating "he did not allow" it, which "caused the defendant to get upset." Thompson told his younger relative and roommate that "his friend needed to go home" and Fuentez "then punched him in the head area with a closed fist."
The uncle said he punched Fuentez back "in self-defense" but then "put both of his arms up to guard his head, while the defendant continued to punch him with a closed fist" and yell at him, saying, "p— boy" and "I've wanted to f— you up since the first day I moved in."
Fuentez left the home and didn't come back until the next morning. It is unclear where the friend was during the incident.
Thompson did not call the police, nor did he feel any "immediate injuries," but two days later, "he developed a migraine in the afternoon." He said he took over-the-counter medication, which helped, but the migraine persisted, and on Feb. 5, 2025, he called his mother, authorities recounted.
"While talking on the phone, [Thompson] began to struggle with speaking in complete sentences," the court document said. The victim's mother thought he was having a stroke and drove over to his home "to make sure he was ok." She then drove him to Waukesha Memorial Hospital, where nurses told Thompson "he had an internal brain bleed."
He was placed in the intensive care unit.
Thompson was "able to speak," but he was "unable to form complete sentences and struggled to find his words due to internal bleeding in his brain," the complaint said. Still, he told authorities at the hospital what happened, and a Waukesha police officer responded, learning that Fuentez had "punched him multiple times in the head area."
As Law&Crime previously reported, Fuentez was originally charged with battery — but that charge was later upgraded to murder when Thompson died on Feb. 17, 2025. It also appeared that Fuentez's attack on his uncle took place while he was out on bond after being released for an unrelated crime the previous September.
Thompson's obituary says he was "an avid gamer, a reptile enthusiast, having many reptiles in his home, loved his dog 'Boy' and most of all loved his family enjoying every family gathering."
Fuentez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27.
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