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Life in prison for corn vendor's killing
A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 killing of a popular south side corn vendor.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 killing of a popular south side corn vendor.
A jury found 34-year-old Antoine Alphonse Jr. guilty in June of first-degree intentional homicide and seven other felonies.
Filigonio Ramirez-Montez, 52, was found dead at the scene Aug. 28 near 11th and Grant. He suffered nine gunshot wounds.
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Prosecutors said the same day Alphonse fatally shot Ramirez-Montez, he and two others robbed a Domino's delivery driver – and Alphonse fired a shot into the air during that incident. A casing recovered from that scene near 22nd Street and McKinley Avenue helped investigators link Alphonse to the homicide.
Surveillance video recovered from the scene showed two males approaching Ramirez-Montez from behind as he pushed a "style street vendor cart," a criminal complaint said. A struggle ensued, and cameras captured a pipe hitting the ground. Then, two gunshots are heard in the video before Ramirez-Montez is seen running away. He's chased by the males onto the front steps of a nearby home, where cameras captured one suspect striking Ramirez-Montez – the other armed with a handgun.
Filigonio Ramirez-Montez, corn vendor fatally shot near 11th and Grant
The struggle continued, and the second suspect is seen in the video shooting Ramirez-Montez, the complaint said – shooting him again as he tried to run. Ramirez-Montez eventually collapsed, and additional shots can be heard in the video with Ramirez-Montez on the ground. One suspect then ran away, while the second was seen removing property from Ramirez-Montez, before both took off. The complaint said Ramirez-Montez had $138.
Investigators recovered five 9mm casings near Ramirez-Montez, and three more near 10th and Grant, matching one recovered from the scene of an armed robbery that same day. In that incident, which took place shortly before 1 a.m. Aug. 28 near 22nd and McKinley, prosecutors said an online order was placed for a Domino's delivery, and when the delivery driver arrived, three males approached from behind a home in the area – one pulling out a handgun. A second suspect went into the driver's pocket and removed $100 – along with his license, credit cards, a watch and phone – before entering his vehicle and removing Domino's food and drink.
Filigonio Ramirez-Montez
As the driver took off, the complaint said a shot was fired into the air, and Alphonse fit the description of the person who fired it. Prosecutors noted Alphonse had previously provided an address near 22nd and McKinley to Milwaukee police when he was arrested back in 2011.
Alphonse was arrested on Sept. 5, 2020 after a lengthy pursuit. Prosecutors said he was found to be the sole occupant of a stolen vehicle, and he was in possession of a 9mm handgun, which he fired from inside the vehicle as officers approached to arrest him.
According to the complaint, Alphonse "fit the physical description" of the person who fired the shot in the robbery, and his voice was captured during the shooting of Ramirez-Montez – which matched Alphonse's voice recorded during an interview with Milwaukee police the day after his arrest.
Editor's note: In previous coverage of this story, the victim had been identified as Emilio Garza. He was later identified by the courts as Filigonio Ramirez-Montez.