Mario Balli
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for the fatal shooting of 44-year-old Rolando Barrera near Burnham Park in July 2019.
Mario Balli, 48, was found guilty at trial in June of first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. In addition to prison time, he was sentenced to 10 years of extended supervision.
Case details
According to a criminal complaint, police were called to the area near 33rd and Mitchell on July 16, 2019. An officer was flagged down by a citizen who pointed to an SUV that "appeared to have collided with a fence" at Burnham Park and was "parked on the baseball field." The officer approached the SUV and found Barrera dead in the driver's seat.
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Police later found the shooting happened behind a home, in an alley north of 33rd and Mitchell – and that Barrera’s vehicle rolled out of the alley and onto the baseball field after the shooting.
The criminal complaint said a confidential informant told police that Balli admitted to killing Barrera over a drug deal – and that Balli believed Barrera had stolen $100,000 in money meant for buying drugs. Investigators also found Balli’s fingerprints inside Barrera’s SUV.