Fatal shooting over PlayStation 5 sale meetup, Milwaukee man charged

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been criminally charged after prosecutors say he shot at a person during a meetup to buy a PlayStation 5 console.

The shooting victim died weeks later at the hospital.

43-year-old Craig Tillman has been charged with 1st-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Sept. 8, 2025 shooting

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, on the morning of Sept. 8, 2025, Milwaukee police responded to the area of Sherman and Hope for a shooting.

When police arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Alvaro Diaz, on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital, but later died from his injuries on Sept. 27.

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Police spoke to an MCTS van driver on the scene who called 911. The bus driver said Diaz drove in front of the bus and stopped. He then got out of his car and said, "call the police, I’ve been shot!"

Police looked at the vehicle and saw it had a gunshot hole in the rear driver’s side window, but otherwise there was no evidence that the shooting happened at Sherman and Hope. There was also $200 in cash in the vehicle, with a $100 bill that had the corner ripped off.

Looking for the shooting scene

What we know:

The complaint goes on to say that police looked for nearby shot spotter recordings and found one a few blocks away near 47th and Glendale. It had recorded two gunshots at 7:36 a.m. that day.

Officers went to the area and found the bottom right corner of a $100 bill, which appeared to have been torn off from the bill found in Diaz's car.

Meetup to sell a PlayStation 5

What we know:

The complaint goes on to state that police looked at Diaz's phone and found a Facebook Messenger conversation between him and an account named "MrCash Ball." The conversation involved Diaz selling a PlayStation 5 to the other person for $200.

The two agreed to meet at an address where both the torn bill was found and the shot spotter identified gunshots. Police searched posts and photos from the "MrCash Ball" Facebook account and identified Craig Tillman, the defendant, as the owner of that profile.

Interviews and investigation

What we know:

The complaint goes on to state that police went to Tillman's place of employment and spoke to his boss, who showed police text messages between himself and Tillman that morning, which included a text about buying a PlayStation 5 for $200.

The message included a photo of Diaz’s Facebook post advertising the PlayStation 5.

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On Oct. 1, police executed a search warrant at Tillman's home near 47th and Glendale. He was arrested and his phone and router were confiscated.

Police interviewed Tillman, who said he was not at home at the time of the shooting, saying he left at 6:30 a.m. He also repeatedly denied having ever interacted with Diaz's Facebook profile, the same profile he showed his boss via text messages.

A forensic review of Tillman's cell phone showed the Facebook profile account for "MrCash Ball" as well as Facebook messages it and Diaz. The phone also showed it was connected to Tillman's Wi-Fi from 6:31 a.m. through 7:38 a.m. the day of the shooting, which police say contradicts Tillman's claim he left home at 6:30 a.m.

Tillman also had a Ring doorbell camera that detected movement at the front door at 7:36:04 a.m. (34 seconds before the shooting), 7:36:56 a.m. (18 seconds after the shooting), and 7:37:47 a.m. (1 minute and 9 seconds after the shooting, but 29 seconds prior to when Tillman's phone disconnects from the Wi-Fi).

Court proceedings

What's next:

Cash bond was set at $300,000 for Tillman.

He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16.

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