Police shoot, kill Green Bay man who kidnapped and shot ex-girlfriend

GREEN BAY — Authorities say a Kewaunee County deputy shot and killed a man who had kidnapped a woman at gunpoint from her Green Bay workplace and shot her.

Officers were called to Hansen’s Frozen Foods on Goddard Way about 4:40 a.m. Tuesday for a report that Luis Cardona, 38, of Green Bay had abducted his 40-year-old former girlfriend and left in a black SUV.

Authorities tracked the SUV with a cellphone in the car, and Kewaunee County deputies found Cardona and the woman near the remote Riverview ATV Park on County L. They were found with the vehicle in a backyard of a residence near the park, and the woman was inside the SUV.

Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski said Cardona may have brought his victim to the remote park area because he had been there before for recreation.

Joski said Cardona shot the woman, who was taken by ambulance to a Green Bay hospital for treatment. A sheriff's deputy then shot Cardona, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was taken by ambulance to a Green Bay hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. No information was available about her condition.

"It’s a true tragedy. We tried to resolve this without any sort of harm to anyone. But unfortunately in this case the suspect was forcing us into ultimately what occurred," Joski said.

Because it was an officer-involved shooting, the state Department of Justice is leading the investigation.

This was the second time Cardona had kidnapped the woman, according to the Green Bay Police Department.

He also abducted her from Hansen's Frozen Foods Oct. 18 but didn't use a weapon, police said.

Cardona had been separated from the woman for almost a year, according to a criminal complaint filed after the Oct. 18 abduction. Cardona was previously scheduled to appear in Brown County court Tuesday for an arraignment in that case.

According to the complaint in the Oct. 18 incident:

The victim had a restraining order on Cardona because he had threatened her for days, and she was afraid to stay at her apartment. When she arrived at work, he showed up in the Hansen's Frozen Foods parking lot and a co-worker went into the store to alert them he was there with her, but they were gone when employees came back out to the parking lot. Her co-workers told the woman's family to call police.

Cardona forced her into his truck and drove them to his workplace on South Broadway in Green Bay. She was able to get free but he grabbed her again. He started driving again and at some point, the victim said, she saw a sign with "Oconto" on it.

Their son called Cardona and asked him "to please bring Mom back, bring her back, and don't hurt her," the complaint states. Cardona then brought her back to his workplace where police arrested him. He had kidnapped her for a total of six hours, the complaint states.

Cardona cooperated when he was arrested. He was jailed but later released on a signature bond.

On Nov. 11, Cardona went to the woman's home and tried to persuade her to come with him, but she refused, according to Green Bay Police. No weapons were involved, police said.

He was charged Nov. 12 with bail jumping and violating a restraining order, and a warrant was issued for Cardona's arrest.

He had no other criminal record of violence, according to online circuit court records.