Bonnie Blackwell
MILWAUKEE - A 41-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of fatally shooting a man at a home near 22nd and Locust on Saturday, Feb. 21. The accused is Bonnie Blackwell – and she faces the following criminal counts:
- First-degree intentional homicide
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
Shooting investigation
What we know:
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21 to a residence near 22nd and Locust for a shooting complaint. When officers arrived on the scene, they found Charley Collins in the kitchen with a gunshot wound. Live-saving measures were attempted, but Collins was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Investigators located a fired bullet near the victim's feet, and a single, fired brass 9mm casing in a hallway.
Witness statement
What they're saying:
A detective interviewed a witness at the scene. That person said Collins had gone to retrieve some food from a delivery person in the front of the residence. When Collins came back inside, another resident of the house, later identified as the defendant, confronted Collins and began to argue with him. At one point, Collins placed the food he received in a bedroom and walked into the kitchen, the witness said. That witness said the defendant "exited her bedroom and yelled at Collins while armed with a large, black, semi-automatic pistol," the complaint says. The witness said the defendant fired the gun one time at Collins and ran out the front door of the residence.
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Jail phone calls
Dig deeper:
Detectives discovered during their investigation that the defendant utilized a phone number and had multiple calls with inmates. On one call on Feb. 20, an inmate is heard "saying the name 'Bonnie" multiple times to get the attention of the other caller," the complaint says.
Another jail call came into the defendant's phone on Feb. 21, the day of the shooting. A detective observed that a "female tells the inmate, 'so I just shot somebody last night, and I think I killed him — I am going to be on the run,'" the complaint says. The female went on to describe the shooting in detail, the complaint says.
Arrest, interview of defendant
What we know:
On Feb. 24, members of the Fugitive Apprehension Unit responded to Rogers Behavioral Health at 111th and Lincoln to check for the defendant. She was arrested at the location.
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When detectives interviewed Blackwell, the defendant stated, "she heard the victim stating that somebody stole his chicken," the complaint says. The defendant said she saw a "container of Dr. Pepper on the porch, but did not observe any chicken," the complaint says. Blackwell said she and the victim then began to have "words," and "the victim was coming towards her in the hallway, aggressively calling her names, and she backed up, and then the gun went off. The defendant stated that she doesn't remember pulling the trigger," the complaint says. The court filing goes on to say Blackwall "admitted that she shot the victim in the back as he was walking away."
What's next:
Blackwell was scheduled to make her initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Friday, Feb. 27.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access and the criminal complaint associated with this case.