2017 Milwaukee homicide; man charged, arrest warrant issued

MILWAUKEE - One Milwaukee man is now accused of killing another nearly a decade ago after police investigators obtained new information last year.

In court:

Prosecutors charged 40-year-old Rickey Brown Jr. with first-degree reckless homicide. Wisconsin Circuit Court records indicate a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

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64th and Ruby | Feb. 16, 2017

The backstory:

The homicide victim, identified in court filings as Rainier Sheridan, called police at around 1:30 p.m. to say he'd been shot. He gave an address, but did not respond to follow-up questions. When police got there, nobody answered the door. 

A criminal complaint said officers went to the backyard and saw a black Buick parked with the driver's door open – the interior in apparent "disarray" – but nobody was inside. A set of keys was found in the grass, and blood was seen on the concrete near the car.

The back door of the home was open, and court filings said officers went inside. They found Sheridan on the floor with multiple bullet wounds. He died in an ambulance on the way to a hospital. An autopsy determined he had been shot four times, and his manner of death was ruled a homicide.

What they're saying:

According to the complaint, a neighbor told police she was watching TV in her living room when she heard multiple gunshots coming from the alley behind her home, and it sounded like they all came from the same gun. Another neighbor said she heard an argument followed by gunshots, but did not see anyone when she looked outside. 

Court filings said a witness told police he saw a man running with a gun in the alley behind 64th Street. The witness said the suspect ran to a beige Chevrolet Tahoe and noted the vehicle's front license plate was partially hanging off. The suspect got into the driver's seat and drove away. The witness said he'd never seen the suspect or vehicle on the block before.

Sherman and Capitol | Feb. 16, 2017

Dig deeper:

Prosecutors said police were called about possible gunshots near Sherman and Capitol at around 12:45 p.m. the same day, roughly 45 minutes before Sheridan called 911. A witness said he saw a black car being chased by a tan Chevrolet SUV – possibly a Tahoe. The witness said the Chevrolet driver at one point was hanging outside the window and shooting a gun at the black car it was chasing.

Surveillance video captured the shooting, which court filings said showed the two vehicles and the Chevrolet driver with his arm extended out of the driver's window "consistent with" the shooting that the witness described. Video from an MCTS bus also showed the Chevrolet had a front license plate that was hanging down.

The complaint said no bullet casings were found at the scene, "which would be consistent with a revolver or the casings being disturbed by heavy traffic at the intersection."

Information leads to arrest

What they're saying:

In January 2018, nearly a year after the shooting, a family member of the victim contacted police with information about the homicide. He said the victim had started dating a woman "around Christmas time in 2016," according to court filings. He also said the woman's ex-boyfriend was "Rickey Brown."

The family member said he was told about a time that Brown "beat up" the woman because she was dating Sheridan, the complaint said. He also told police that Sheridan told him that Brown was "stalking" him and the woman when they were dating.

A detective investigated the family member's statements, court filings said, first by searching dispatch records for any entry with "Rickey Brown." The search showed a call for an "abduction" near 60th and Congress on Dec. 17, 2016. Records indicated Brown and the aforementioned woman were the two people involved.

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Prosecutors said bodycam footage from the incident showed the woman and Brown, as well as a beige Chevrolet Tahoe with the front license plate hanging on by one screw. The vehicle was "consistent with" the suspect vehicle involved in the incidents on Feb. 16, 2017. A records search revealed Brown owned a Chevrolet Tahoe, and the vehicle was found parked outside his listed address.

Multiple witnesses identified photos of Brown's Chevrolet as "consistent with the suspect vehicle," per the complaint. Multiple people who knew Brown also said he drove a tan Chevrolet Tahoe, one of whom said Brown would've been "the only person driving" the vehicle "during the time of the homicide."

Brown was arrested, and his cellphone was seized as evidence, on Feb. 8, 2018. Court filings did not indicate when he was released from custody.

Cellphone records

Dig deeper:

Court filings said police obtained cellphone records through a subpoena, including recent records. Records showed "numerous contacts" between Brown and the woman, as well as the woman and Sheridan, on the date of the homicide. 

At around 12:30 p.m. on the date of the homicide, the complaint states Brown's cellphone was using a tower near Green Bay and Hope that covers Capitol Drive. It was using a tower near 60th and Fond du Lac, which covers the residence where the victim was found – but not Brown's residence – at around 1 p.m. that day.

The complaint also noted that while there was "extensive communication" between the woman and Brown leading up to the homicide, there were at the same time numerous attempts by the woman to call the victim. After the victim called 911, though, the woman "never attempts" to call or text the victim again.

New information uncovered 

Dig deeper:

Police obtained a warrant to search Brown's cellphone using "more advanced software" in 2025. During that search, detectives located several images "of importance."

Those images included screen captures of text conversations between the woman and Sheridan that appeared to show an argument between them. The images had capture times of just after 11 a.m. on Feb. 16, 2017 – the date of the homicide.

Several photos on Brown's cellphone were "consistent with being taken by" his cellphone camera, according to court filings. Those photos were taken from inside a car, and the dashboard was "consistent with" his Chevrolet Tahoe. Those photos had capture times of roughly 30 minutes before the homicide.

Prosecutors said one photo showed the intersection of 60th and Fond du Lac, another the intersection of 63rd and Congress – roughly one block from Sheridan's home. The complaint said it would "be the most direct route" to the victim's home. Other photos showed what appeared to show a home on the block where Sheridan was killed.