EAU CLAIRE — An Eau Claire man was shot to death over $500 in drug money owed to a Milwaukee man, authorities say.

The man, Eddie Banks, 46, was shot in a vehicle outside a town of Washington motel on June 15 and his body was dumped in a ditch along a road in the town of Clear Creek, authorities said.

Philip R. Novak, 37, of Milwaukee, Kristina K. Keppert, 39, of Cadott, and Vanessa J. Ketteman, 24, 807 E. Grand Ave., were each charged Friday with first-degree intentional homicide.

Keppert and Ketteman were charged as a party to a crime.

Novak is also charged with felony counts of attempted armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon and bail jumping.

The date for an initial court appearance for the trio has not been set.

According to the criminal complaint and the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office:

A passerby contacted authorities at 11:03 a.m. on Thursday, June 16, about a dead body seen in the ditch on the E11000 block of Mallard Road in the town of Clear Creek.

The body was identified as Banks. An autopsy conducted by the Ramsey County, Minn., medical examiner's office determined that Banks had one bullet wound. The bullet entered his right cheek and was recovered in his left rib cage.

During the course of the investigation, Novak, Ketteman and Keppert were identified as suspects.

Ketteman said during an interview with authorities that she and Novak were in Rice Lake when Novak borrowed a friend's truck.

Novak asked Ketteman to drive him to Eau Claire because he wanted to meet with Banks to get money that was owed to him. They stopped in Cadott to pick up Keppert.

All three then went to Eau Claire with Ketteman driving.

The trio met Banks at Garton's Motel on East Clairemont Avenue in the town of Washington.

The two women were sitting in the front seat while Novak was hiding in the back seat. Banks, who apparently didn't know Novak was in the back seat, then got into the back seat of the truck.

Ketteman said within a minute she heard Banks say "whoa" and immediately heard a gunshot. She said Novak had the gun and that it went off after Banks tried to take it out of Novak's hand.

At this point Ketteman and Keppert had already switched positions in the front seat.

After the shot was fired, Novak repeatedly said the word "drive," so Keppert began driving on back roads.

After a period of time, Ketteman said, Novak opened a back door of the truck and pushed Banks out.

"That was the most disturbing sounds of dead weight falling out of the truck," she said.

Ketteman said she and Novak then returned to Rice Lake after dropping off Keppert.

Keppert told authorities in an interview that Banks kept $500 that Novak had provided him for drugs without giving Novak the drugs. She said Banks had also ripped her off for $300, which had been intended for the purchase of methamphetamine.

Keppert said Novak was "hell mad" about losing the $500. 

Novak declined to be interviewed by authorities and requested an attorney.

At the time of the shooting incident, Novak was free on bond for a pending felony case in Barron County.

Novak is being prosecuted as a repeat offender. He was convicted of a felony count of armed robbery as a party to a crime in September 2016 in Eau Claire County.

Contact: 715-833-9207, dan.holtz@ecpc.com

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