Milwaukee fatal Deer District shooting; Glendale man accused
Demetris Riley
MILWAUKEE - A 26-year-old Glendale man is accused of fatally shooting a woman in Milwaukee's Deer District on Feb. 28. The accused is Demetris Riley – and he faces a single count of first-degree intentional homicide.
Crash leads to shooting
What we know:
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded to the area near Vel R. Phillips and State on Saturday, Feb. 28 for a shooting. The victim, later identified as Sharita Barber, was found in the street. Two citizens were rendering aid to Barber. Officers took over life-saving measures until the Milwaukee Fire Department arrived. The victim was later pronounced deceased from her injuries.
Sharita Barber
Police spoke with one of the citizens that had been rendering aid to Barber. That person is a traveling registered nurse who said when she left Turner Hall she heard multiple pops. She also indicated she "heard someone say that a person was 'down' in the street," the complaint says. The nurse immediately started CPR on the victim and another citizen joined in the effort.
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On the street, a detective found a .22 caliber handgun with an extended magazine. Additionally, six fired cartridge casings were located at the scene. After criminal analysis, it was "determined that all six (6) fired .22 caliber cartridge casings were fired by the same firearm and were not fired by the (handgun) recovered at the scene," the complaint says.
Investigators noted they were able to recover camera footage of the incident from several different angles. They came from a pole camera, a Lyft driver with a dash camera, and a citizen witness that captured the initial confrontation but not the actual shooting.
Defendant turned himself in
What they're saying:
According to the criminal complaint, the defendant turned himself into police on Monday, March 2 with an attorney. In a statement, Riley told police he had gone to a concert in downtown Milwaukee. When they were leaving, they got into their vehicle and were preparing to leave when the victim backed into the car he was driving. He indicated a second person who was with him got out of the vehicle and "yelled at the victim, who seemed like she did not want to exit the vehicle. When she did exit, the defendant stated that the victim was yelling at him and bumped him. He stated that this got him angry, so he punched her car and broke a window," the complaint says.
The defendant went on to say he told the victim, "'my bad' and then the victim went to her vehicle and got a gun, which she pointed at him. He said he walked away to the sidewalk and the victim followed him, stating, 'you can't pay for a Jaguar window, you got to pay with your life,'" the complaint says. The defendant said the victim then pointed the firearm at him.
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The complaint says the other person with the defendant "defended him by shooting the victim," the complaint says. The defendant then took the firearm from the second person, "claimed that the victim at this point began reaching for her gun, so he fired more shots at her," the complaint says. The defendant stated he was "concerned for his safety, so he decided to drive away. He stated that the victim was laying in his way, so he drove over her," the complaint says.
Milwaukee fatal Deer District shooting; victim identified, 2 arrested
Family members say Sharita Barber, 47, was shot and killed after a fender bender in Milwaukee’s Deer District on Saturday, Feb. 28, and police have not yet identified a suspect.
Milwaukee police indicated a 24-year-old woman was also taken into custody in this case.
Court appearance
What's next:
Riley was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Friday, March 6.
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.