Children locked in Milwaukee storage unit; Charles Dupriest guilty
Charles Dupriest
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County jury found Charles Dupriest guilty on Wednesday, Jan. 14, in connection to the discovery of six young children locked in a Milwaukee storage unit.
Dupriest was found guilty of eight counts of neglecting a child and a single count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.
Case details
What we know:
Dupriest was charged along with Azyia Zielinski in connection with the discovery of the six young children locked in a Milwaukee storage unit, one of whom was only two months old.
The Milwaukee Police Department discovered the children on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, and later confirmed that those children were "unhoused."
Young children found in locked Milwaukee storage unit
According to the criminal complaint, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at about 1:30 a.m., MPD officers responded to the Storsafe near 27th and Silver Spring for a report of a child crying inside a locked storage unit.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Milwaukee firefighters cut the padlock to one of the storage units and found six children, the youngest of which was two months old. There was a bucket of urine in the middle of the unit and there was no light source, other than a crack in the garage door. One of the children told a detective they "weren't supposed to be loud."
The complaint goes on to say that the eldest child told detectives it was their responsibility to take care of the children when Charles and Azyia, the defendants, were away. The child also said that they needed to give the baby a bottle when the baby cries, and that the child had no phone or means to contact Charles and Azyia in an emergency.
None of the children were reported to be injured.
State of the storage unit
What we know:
The complaint goes on to say that the unit was in disarray, and the smell was "putrid." There was a sectional couch and a twin mattress on which three of the children slept. The mattress had no bedsheets. There were boxes of chips, milk, and a case of soda. There were no lights, electricity, or running water.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Condition of the storage unit
A Storsafe employee provided surveillance video to police showing the defendants dropping the children off at the storage unit. He also recalled seeing a twin-sized bed inside. He reported the issue to management, who issued an eviction notice for the unit.
What's next:
Zielinski pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts in this case. Four felony counts against her were dismissed. Zielinski is scheduled to be sentenced on March 19.
Azyia Zielinski
The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the criminal complaint associated with this case, and previous FOX6 News coverage.