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MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County prosecutors have charged five people in connection to an April music studio shooting that killed an 18-year-old man.
Charges filed
In court:
Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Tayshaun Buchanan with first-degree reckless homicide, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
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Tyreik Tucker-Harris, 19, and Paul McNeil, 18, are also charged with first-degree reckless homicide, among other crimes. Court records show both are being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $400,000.
Two other people, 19-year-old Aaron Mims and a 17-year-old boy, are charged with gun-related crimes. The court set bond for the two of them was set at $20,000 and $2,000, respectively.
Shooting investigation
The backstory:
The shooting happened at a music studio near Fond du Lac and Hickory, just east of 27th Street, on April 28. Police went to the scene and saw a bullet hole in a door, later finding the victim, 18-year-old Damare Johnson, unresponsive.
Dig deeper:
A criminal complaint said motion-activated video from the building showed Buchanan, Tucker-Harris and McNeil all there that night and, at times, holding guns.
Fond du Lac and Hickory, Milwaukee
Detectives collected three guns from the people Johnson was with, and court filings said ballistics tests determined none of those guns fired the bullet casings that were found at the homicide scene.
Police later stopped a white SUV, which turned out to be a Lyft, in connection to the shooting. The complaint said Mims got out and ran, but was later found hiding under a vehicle. McNeill was ordered out of the SUV and initially began to run but was arrested. Tucker-Harris was also in the SUV and arrested.
Prosecutors said a search of the SUV uncovered three guns, two of which were under the seats where Tucker-Harris and Mims had been sitting. Video from the SUV showed Mims hiding the gun that was under his seat.
In custody
What they're saying:
Court filings said McNeil told detectives he had rented studio space from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. that night to record music and, while already there, learned another group of people was coming in at 9 p.m.
Two people came into the studio around that time, the complaint said, and McNeil claimed one of them pointed a gun at him – so he pulled out his own gun to "protect himself." He denied firing the gun.
McNeil was with a group of people that included Tucker-Harris and Mims that night, court filings said. McNeil told police that he took a Lyft to the studio and had ordered a ride to pick up the group before the victim and others had arrived at the studio that night. Police said McNeil's claims were supported by video and phone records.
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When police later stopped the Lyft they were in, the complaint said McNeil admitted he started to run but stopped because he said he "had no reason to run." He said he was not sure who shot the victim, but Buchanan was the person closest to the door at that time.
McNeil told police that he knew the victim well and didn't have a problem with him, according to court filings, but "everyone else in the group does" because the victim had made a "diss song" about them. He described the victim coming to the studio when he did as "ironic."
During his own interview with police, the complaint said Tucker-Harris admitted he fired a shot at the wall – not hitting anyone – and claimed someone else fired the other shots. He said he never saw the victim walk into the room, but that he knew the victim dissed McNeil in a song and that McNeil never responded to the "diss track."
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The 17-year-old who's charged in the case told police he went to the studio to record music with Johnson, and they were walking in when someone shot the victim, according to the complaint. He said he stayed at the scene and called 911.
Prosecutors said a person from the music studio said three people in the first group – Buchanan, Tucker-Harris and McNeil – were all armed that night, and he did not see anyone in the victim's group enter the room with any guns. He was also "certain" that the first group opened fire on the victim's group, and he did not believe the victim's group returned fire.
Court filings said another witness told police that Johnson and the 17-year-old both had guns at the time.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.