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MILWAUKEE - A man is accused of forcing his way into a 99-year-old woman's Milwaukee home and beating her, the delayed response leading to an internal investigation of emergency dispatch staff, early Monday.
Charges filed
In court:
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office charged 23-year-old Joseph Macias with battery to an elder, first-degree reckless injury and burglary. He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Friday.
99-year-old woman beaten
The backstory:
Milwaukee police responded to a series of 911 calls to a home near 14th and Cudahy, in a neighborhood just north of Layton Avenue, on the morning of July 27.
A criminal complaint said an officer went inside through the back door, which was closed but not locked, and "immediately" encountered Macias. When the officer confronted him, Macias said, "What the f*** you acting stupid for?" and, "You know I don't care about dying, right?"
Joseph Macias
The officer could hear an elderly woman in another room but could not see her. Court filings said Macias claimed the woman in the other room was his grandma before he was escorted out of the house.
Police found the 99-year-old victim covered in blood. The complaint said her eyes were swollen shut, and her mouth was so swollen she could hardly speak. Her arms were covered in cuts and bruises, and she was "only able to yell in agony" when asked where she was hurt. Her full injuries were not determined as of July 31, when charges were filed.
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The woman was later able to tell police that she woke up to loud banging on her door. The complaint said, when she opened the door, a stranger attacked her and forced her onto the floor as he hurled profanities and kicked her.
Nothing appeared to be stolen from the home. It appeared Macias began to beat up the victim "immediately" after she opened the door, and there were no other reasons he was there, prosecutors said.
14th and Cudahy, Milwaukee
What they're saying:
Once in custody, court filings said Macias claimed he didn't remember what he'd done and wrote the woman an apology letter. He told police:
"I know I'm not innocent. I know I'm gonna have to pay that consequences to my actions, you know? But it's like I'm, I'm basically like, you know, dealing with something that I wasn't even aware of or doing or anything like this. So it's like, in a way it feels like I'm taking the blame for somebody else's wrongdoing, but I know it was me just not in the right state of mind."
Macias said he'd been "drinking heavily" before going to the victim's home.
911 delay, internal investigation
Dig deeper:
Video from the neighborhood showed a single person – later identified as Macias – in the victim's driveway at around 4:45 a.m. on the morning of the attack, shortly before the victim's LifeAlert system made the first 911 call at 5:15 a.m. Police did not arrive until around 8 a.m.
The hours-long delay led to an internal investigation. The director of the City of Milwaukee's 911 call center admitted his team dropped the ball when they failed to dispatch resources to the battery-in-progress on the city's south side. Two call takers have been placed on administrative leave.
Milwaukee 911 operators on leave after delayed response to home invasion
The director of the City of Milwaukee's 911 call center admitted his team dropped the ball when employees did not dispatch police or fire resources to a battery-in-progress earlier this week.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage of the internal investigation into the 911 calls.