Robert Chilcote

MARINETTE — A Wisconsin man accused of killing his girlfriend has waived his preliminary hearing, binding his case over for arraignment.

Robert Alan Chilcote, 29, of Porterfield, Wis., appeared in the Marinette County Courthouse on Thursday alongside his defense attorney, Hannah Rachel Fontaine, and Marinette County District Attorney DeShea D. Morrow, with Judge James A. Morrison presiding.

Chilcote faces one count of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Gabriella Cartagena, on Feb. 4 in Marinette, Wis.

A preliminary hearing is held to determine whether prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a case to proceed to trial. Because Chilcote waived his right to a preliminary hearing, the case will move to arraignment, where he is expected to enter a plea.

Chilcote was charged Feb. 15 after calling the Marinette Police Department from the Wright County Jail in Minnesota on Feb. 9 and allegedly admitting he shot Cartagena.

According to Marinette Police, Chilcote said the shooting occurred during an argument Feb. 4 and was accidental.

Cartagena’s body was found the morning of Feb. 10 in a wooded area near Birch Creek Road in Menominee County, about 115 feet from the roadway, according to the criminal complaint.

Police initially received a missing person report Feb. 5 after Cartagena’s mother said her daughter was last seen leaving home the previous evening with Chilcote.

Investigators recovered video showing Chilcote leaving Red Arrow Park and heading toward the Birch Creek Boat Launch in Menominee County. Residential cameras also placed him in the area, the criminal complaint states.

“Based on what I had observed I believed the red substance was blood and that a body had possibly been dragged from the parking lot to in front of the dock,” Det. Lt. Matzke of the Marinette Police Department wrote in the criminal complaint. “I learned the city had a security camera at the park but no videos were found for that day.”

About two and a half hours after Cartagena was reported missing, police contacted the Wright County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota for assistance after identifying Chilcote as a person of interest.

The Wright County Sheriff’s Office arrested Chilcote on Feb. 5 after a 16-minute chase that reached speeds of 100 mph.

“At one point while heading south on Nashua Ave NE near the intersection with 70th St, the suspect vehicle swerved towards a deputy who was deploying stop sticks, causing the deputy to jump out of the path of the vehicle,” Deputy Thomas Peterson of the Wright County Sheriff’s Office wrote. “The suspect vehicle came within five feet of hitting the deputy.”

Chilcote then swerved into a snowbank and was taken into custody without further incident. Several firearms were found in his vehicle.

He was booked into the Wright County Jail on charges of fleeing police in a motor vehicle, second-degree assault and possession of a firearm without a permit.

Chilcote later waived extradition to Wisconsin and was transferred to the Marinette County Jail.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Marinette County Circuit Court on May 6.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.