Milwaukee shooting: Man charged, wanted for reckless homicide

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Scene near Darien and Green Tree

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is charged and wanted for a fatal shooting that happened on the city's north side on May 9.

In Court:

Court records show 21-year-old Curtis Griffin is charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide. A warrant was issued for his arrest on May 29.

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Darien and Green Tree shooting | May 9, 2025

What they're saying:

Milwaukee police were called to the area of Darien and Green Tree, just west of Teutonia Avenue. A criminal complaint states officers found the victim, 25-year-old Chrishaun Ragland, shot in the driver's seat of a gray Ford SUV that was stopped on the grass. Ragland died at the scene despite life-saving attempts.

SUV with bullet holes in the window near Darien and Green Tree

Court filings said Ragland suffered multiple gunshot wounds. There appeared to be bullet holes to the driver's window and door of the gray Ford, as well as a bullet strike to the dashboard in front of the steering wheel. 

Prosecutors said a witness told investigators he heard several gunshots and went outside, where he saw a man with no shirt on – armed with a rifle – running from an apartment building near the scene. The same man eventually returned and went back inside the apartment building.

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Detectives went to the apartment where the witness said he saw the armed man running to and from. The complaint states they found rifle bullet casings "consistent" with the shooter firing shots from the apartment's balcony toward Ragland. A sporting rifle was found during a search of the apartment and taken for ballistics testing, which found it was "consistent" with the rifle that fired the rounds found at the scene. A handgun was also found in the apartment.

Woman accused of stealing gun

Dig deeper:

According to court filings, surveillance video showed Ragland's gray Ford SUV pull up in front of the apartment building on the day of the shooting. It also showed 21-year-old Shania Barksdale meeting with Ragland and walking upstairs in the direction of the shooter's apartment. Minutes later, she was seen running down the stairs carrying the handgun that was later found during the search.

Surveillance images of Shania Barksdale and Curtis Griffin (Courtesy: MCDAO)

Shortly after, prosecutors said surveillance showed Griffin running downstairs without a shirt on. He was carrying what appeared to be the rifle that was found in the apartment. He later returned carrying both the rifle and the handgun that Barksdale had been seen with. 

Barksdale told investigators she was Ragland's girlfriend, per the complaint. She said Ragland planned to go to Griffin's apartment and told her to "pretend to buy some marijuana" from Griffin with the intent of stealing a gun. She said she gave Griffin money for marijuana, and she saw a handgun on a table near a couch. When Griffin went to get the drugs, she took the gun and ran. When she got to the gray Ford SUV, where Ragland was waiting, she said she could not get in and heard Griffin fire shots from the balcony. She dropped the gun, which is how Griffin was able to pick it up and return inside with it, according to court filings.

Prosecutors charged Barksdale with theft for stealing the gun from the apartment.