2024 homicide: Milwaukee man found guilty, sentenced to prison
Areon Davis
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide in connection to a 2024 shooting on the city's south side was sentenced to prison.
Prosecutors charged 22-year-old Areon Davis with first-degree intentional homicide. Court filings indicate he killed a known "drug dealer" who was also "a close family friend."
Found guilty, sentenced to prison
What we know:
A jury found Davis guilty of the lesser charge of first-degree reckless homicide on June 11.
On Thursday, July 23, a judge sentenced Davis to 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision. He also has to pay more than $6,800 in restitution.
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Milwaukee man accused of killing 'drug dealer' on city's south side
A Milwaukee man is accused of first-degree intentional homicide for a November shooting near 26th and Becher on the city's south side.
2024 fatal shooting
The backstory:
The shooting happened near 26th and Becher the night of Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. The 33-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and the medical examiner's office determined he suffered gunshot wounds to the face, neck, chest and arm.
Prosecutors said, while surveillance video in the area did not capture the shooting, it showed an Infiniti follow the victim's Hyundai into a t-shaped alley. At around the time of the shooting, a person in dark clothes was then seen running from the end of the block where the victim was later found. That person then got into the same Infiniti that had followed the victim's Hyundai.
The Infiniti fled the scene, but a criminal complaint states investigators were able to get its license plate. It was found abandoned blocking an alley near 33rd and Kilbourn – roughly three miles from the homicide scene – the following morning.
Court filings state investigators later learned the victim was "a close family friend" to Davis and a known "drug dealer" who was "normally carrying a lot of money." Days after the homicide, Davis posted photos of himself "with a large stack of cash" that a person who knows Davis told investigators he "would not otherwise have access to."
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Investigators learned Davis used multiple cellphones. Prosecutors said a review of phone records and data for a number associated with one of those phones placed the phone less than a mile from the homicide scene minutes before it happened. After the homicide, it placed the phone about a half-mile from where the Infiniti was found. Further, Davis had the Life360 app on one of his cellphones – which shares location data. Data from the app placed Davis near 26th and Becher at around the time of the homicide. After the homicide, it showed him traveling to the city's north side.
Davis was arrested in West Allis on Dec. 8, at which time court filings state the cellphone in question was found.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, and court records.