Shootings on Milwaukee's north side, 2 charged after investigations
Lazerrick Wade; Damari Towns
MILWAUKEE - Two Milwaukee men are charged with a combined 14 felonies after investigations into a pair of shootings that happened more than a month apart.
Prosecutors accuse 21-year-old Lazerrick Wade of wounding two people in separate shootings on the city's north side. In one of the shootings, he allegedly fired the weapon to show an "interested buyer" that it was real.
Damari Towns, 19, is accused of multiple weapons crimes.
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14th and North shooting
Milwaukee police were called to the scene on March 3. According to a criminal complaint, a victim was in his bedroom when he heard gunshots nearby. He told police he then felt "extreme pain" and realize he'd been shot.
Officers saw a large bullet hole coming from outside into the victim's bedroom, the complaint states. Three bullet casings from a rifle were found in the street.
The complaint states surveillance video showed two people – later identified as Wade and Towns – walking near 14th and North. Wade pulled out a rifle and fired it toward the victim's home, and the two then ran off. Towns was seen holding a handgun.
Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)
56th and Locust
More than a month later, on April 5, Milwaukee police were called to another shooting allegedly involving Wade. The victim was shot in the face and taken to a hospital.
According to the complaint, the victim told investigators Wade was armed and demanding a gun from him. The victim said he kicked Wade out of the house, and then the gunfire began. Officers saw roughly 35 bullet holes in the house and 15 bullet fragments inside. There were 23 bullet casings on one side of the house, and 12 on the other side.
Surveillance video from the area showed two people shooting at the house; audio determined one of the weapons was fired "in an automatic fashion," per the complaint.
In custody
Police went to arrest Wade and Towns on April 11 and surrounded a vehicle the two were in, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors said Wade ran from the vehicle into a home near 15th and North – roughly a block from the first shooting scene – and tossed a gun. That gun was recovered and found to have a sear plate switch, which police said converts it to an automatic weapon. Towns stayed in the vehicle and was taken into custody. Officers recovered another gun with a sear plate switch inside the vehicle.
Police searched the home Wade ran into. During that search, the complaint states officers found spent bullet casings for a rifle, and a sweatshirt that matched the one the shooter was wearing in the surveillance from the March 3 shooting near 14th and North. The rifle casings found in that shooting were determined to be a match for the casings found during the search.
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Wade admitted to shooting the rifle on March 3 to "show an interested buyer upon live video that the gun was in fact real," the complaint said – but thought he fired it into the air. He also acknowledged he was present for the April 5 shooting near 56th and Locust but denied firing shots. In regard to his arrest, he admitted he tossed the gun as he ran from officers.
Towns admitted he was with Wade on 14th Street, and said Wade was the shooter, per the complaint. He said he had a gun on him "for his protection." As for the April 5 shooting, he said he was not there but heard about it. He said the gun found in the vehicle during his arrest had been tossed to him.
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In court
In all, Wade is charged with eight felonies:
- First-degree reckless injury
- Second-degree reckless injury
- Second-degree recklessly endangering safety (three counts)
- Endangering safety by use of a firearm
- Sale/possession/use/transport of machine gun (two counts)
He made his initial court appearance on April 17, and his cash bond was set at $75,000.
In all, Towns is charged with six felonies:
- Possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent (two counts)
- Sale/possession/use/transport of a machine gun (two counts)
- Felony bail jumping (two counts)
He made his initial court appearance on April 18, and his cash bond was set at $15,000.