James Edwards
MILWAUKEE - A Menasha man convicted of fatally shooting a woman on Milwaukee's north side last summer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Man sentenced
In Court:
Court records show 33-year-old James Edwards was initially charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. As part of a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree reckless homicide.
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In addition to prison time, court records show Edwards was sentenced to 10 years of extended supervision.
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42nd and Florist shooting
The backstory:
Milwaukee police were called to a shooting near 42nd and Florist early on June 25, 2024. A criminal complaint said the victim, LaShawnda Shumpert, died at the scene despite life-saving attempts.
Court filings said investigators noted "extensive gunfire damage" to Shumpert's home. Investigators recovered 27 fired bullet casings at the scene, and an analysis at MPD's Fusion Center found the casings were "consistent with being fired" by a single gun.
Detectives recovered security video from a residence near the victim's home. The complaint said it showed the suspect's car driving past the home and, during a second pass, pulling over briefly before driving out of view. It was described as white with one replacement door that was black.
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Court filings said the same video showed the suspect walking toward the victim's home about four minutes later. There were then "muzzle flashes" that were "consistent with the suspect shooting at the residence." The suspect then ran away, "consistent with running back to the white car with the black door."
Based on the security video, authorities believed the suspect's car was a white 2010 Mercury Milan. Prosecutors said a search of a license plate reader system turned up a vehicle that was owned by someone who knew Edwards.
Investigators also recovered six latent fingerprints from the car, the complaint said, that "were those of the defendant."
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.