Wisconsin police have arrested a 57-year-old man they say entered an Elkhorn bar on February 1 and played the gaming macchines before gunning down the bartender and her newlywed husband.
An eyewitness who was inside the Sports Page Barr that night said that a man, believed to be Thomas Allen Routt Jr., played the gaming machines for about 30 minutes before brandishing a handgun and pointing it at Gina Weingart, the bartender, ordering her not to move, Elkhorn Police said. The witness said they got up off their own barstool before the gunman swung the gun toward them and repeated the order not to move.
According to the witness, they sat down, and the gunman shot the bartender. The witness ran from the scene and called 911 once they were a safe distance away.
Police arrived and found Gina Weingart and her husband, Emerson Weingart — who frequently stayed with his wife when she closed down the bar — dead, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Routt was arrested on February 4 “on a Department of Correctons hold” because he was on parole from a arson charge.
Police said Routt admitted to shooting the Weingarts and following the witness out the back door while shooting at them. He said his motive was robbery, and after chasing the witness, he returned to the bar and tool $120 to $140 from the cash drawer and then returned to his home. The next day, he said, he disposed of his gun in a trash can at a convenience store in Lake Como, where officers found it.
Routt has been charged with two counts of first degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon, and one count each of attempted homicide, armed robbery, and felon in possession of a firearm.
Police said they were still investigating but don’t believe anyone else was involved.
Family members said the Weingarts were married last June, and Jordan Barr, owner of The Sports Page Barr, said they were regulars at the club before he offered Gina a job.
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[Featured image: Gina and Emerson Weingart/Facebook. Inset: Thomas Allen Routt Jr./Elkhorn Police Department]
