Milwaukee shooting in alley near high school; 18-year-old charged

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Jakuan Staten

MILWAUKEE - A 18-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of firing gunshots in an alley not far from a high school on the city's north side. The accused is Jakuan Staten – and he faces the following criminal counts: 

• Endangering safety by use of dangerous weapon
• Discharge of firearm in school zone

Case details

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded to a "shots fired" call near 28th and McKinley on Monday, Dec. 22. The caller indicated they saw a vehicle pull into an alley and heard four to five gunshots. A second caller indicated the same.

A ShotSpotter alert reported five gunshots in the area.

Milwaukee police and the FBI obtained surveillance videos from the area. Multiple videos showed a gray sedan. The "front seat passenger is observed reaching out of the front passenger window" as it approached a garage behind a residence. Officers reported "the video shows the front seat passenger discharge multiple gunshots evidenced by muzzle flashes," the complaint says. The complaint goes on to say, "some audio can be heard, which includes two male voices talking excitedly right after the discharge of the firearm." The video shows the car turning down another alley where audio picks up a second volley of shots.

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Police and the FBI recovered five 28mm casings from the alley. They also reported the shooting happened within 1,000 feet of the Groppi High School grounds.

The FBI later obtained still images of the surveillance video and were able to identify a partial license plate. They later found a gray sedan with that plate registered to the defendant, Jakuan Staten.

On Dec. 28, the complaint says police located the gray sedan parked behind a residence near 15th and Vliet. They spotted the defendant entering briefly and then exited the vehicle. He was then taken into custody. One officer noted in the complaint that he "observed the defendant remove (a) firearm from the front of his waistband and put it on the front driver floorboard. The officer reports that the firearm was in plain view on the front driver floorboard."

Interview with defendant

What they're saying:

During a police and FBI interview with the defendant, he denied any involvement in the Dec. 22 incident. When asked what he was doing on Dec. 22, the "defendant stated that he was in the hospital starting on the evening of December 21 and then got out on the 24th," the complaint says. Discharge paperwork recovered during a search of the car showed the defendant was discharged early on Dec. 22.

Police asked the defendant if he left his keys without anyone, and he said he had his keys the entire time.

An FBI agent showed the defendant still shots from the surveillance video. The defendant then "stated that he went through the alley and shot his firearm," the complaint says. The agent then asked the defendant "for clarification purposes if the defendant was driving and discharging the firearm out of the car while he was operating it and the defendant stated 'yeah.'" the complaint says. Staten then stated "that he gave his firearm to his friend, who was seated in the front passenger seat, and that his friend is who shot it out the window," the complaint says. The defendant also confirmed this happened in the alley, the court filing says.

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When the FBI asked the defendant what the purposes of discharging the firearm was in that are, "the defendant stated 'just shooting rounds off' and 'just pulled into the alley and did it,'" the complaint says. The defendant confirmed he is a student at Groppi High School.

Court appearance

What's next:

Staten made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Saturday, Jan. 3. Cash bond was set at $10,000.

Staten is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 9.