Milwaukee homicide; man accused of killing brother found guilty

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Brandon Smith

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County jury found Brandon Smith guilty on Wednesday, April 1, of killing his brother inside a home near 47th and Stark in February 2025. Smith was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide. 

Smith is now scheduled to be sentenced on June 5. 

Case details

The backstory:

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched early on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 to a shooting near 47th and Stark. When officers arrived on the scene, they made contact with a person inside a house who stated, "this is the one that hurt the other one," the complaint says. Officers walked into another room and found Justin Smith on the ground surrounded by blood. Smith had suffered a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased on the scene. Officials say near Smith's body was a hammer.

47th and Stark, Milwaukee

A detective spoke with a woman who was at the residence, living there with the victim and the defendant. The complaint says the woman "stated that the defendant believed that his brother (the victim), had been in an intimate relationship with the defendant's ex-wife, but (the woman) indicated this was not factual." The woman also showed police where "she hid the defendant's gun, and that gun was recovered," the complaint says.

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A detective also conducted a scene investigation. The detective noted the "hammer lying on the floor near the victim, covered in blood. Two firearms were recovered from the residence, including the firearm from the couch cushions that (the woman) indicated was the gun used by the defendant to shoot the victim," the complaint says.

47th and Stark, Milwaukee

When police conducted an interview with the defendant, Smith "stated he believed the victim was monitoring him through his cellphone and was going to kill the defendant," the complaint says. Smith told police he thought someone had come home with the victim, but "admitted he never saw anyone. The defendant believed he heard the victim and this unknown person discussing waiting for the defendant to go outside to ambush the defendant outside," the complaint says. The defendant went into detail about what happened. He also indicated that "he and the victim had never pulled guns on each other before," the complaint says.