95th and Brown Deer shooting, Milwaukee men charged

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County prosecutors charged two men with reckless homicide for a shooting that happened near 95th and Brown Deer in late May. 

Charges filed

In court:

Thaddeus Moore, 22, and Ladarius Green, 18, are each charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide. Moore, who was convicted of second-degree recklessly endangering safety in Washington County last year, is also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.

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Both Moore and Green appeared in court Tuesday, but their hearings were adjourned because neither man has been appointed a public defender. They're being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $300,000 cash bond.

95th and Brown Deer shooting

The backstory:

Milwaukee police were called to the shooting near 95th and Brown Deer shortly after 10 p.m. on May 31. One 911 caller said they heard a "whole bunch of gunshots."

The victim, identified in court filings as 21-year-old Krishna Carter, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. Investigators found four 9mm bullet casings, six .40 caliber casings and one unfired .40 caliber cartridge. Six more 9mm casings were found across the parking lot, and it appeared at least two vehicles and at least one residence were struck.

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Dig deeper:

Doorbell camera video captured the shooting. A criminal complaint said it showed a group of nine people – including Carter and two people who later shot at him – in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Carter and one of the shooters appeared to get into a fight when a "barrage of gunshots" could be heard and Carter dropped to the ground. The rest of the group scattered. 

A witness said Carter was gambling with people in the parking lot that night, according to the complaint. He heard gunshots and saw Carter hit the ground, but said Carter was not gambling at that time. He said "there was no reason for Carter to get shot," and everything happened fast. He also said the shooters took a gun from Carter.

Prosecutors said two different witnesses identified Moore as one of the shooters when shown photo lineups. Detectives further determined Moore matched the description of one of the shooters, and his fingerprints were found on a soda bottle recovered at the scene.

Men arrested

The backstory:

In the days after the shooting, Milwaukee police searched a home near 27th and Atkinson and arrested four men – including Moore and Green. Court filings said police found four guns during the search, including one that matched some of the casings found at the shooting scene. Green's fingerprint was found on the slide of that gun.

What they're saying:

Once in custody, prosecutors said Moore told police that he didn't know anything about the guns found in the house and "hopes" his DNA was not on any of them. When asked about the day of the homicide, his story "varied as to where he was" at any given time. He admitted he was in the parking lot earlier that day, but denied being there when the shooting happened. He also claimed he was home when the shooting happened, but later admitted he was there during the gambling game but was not gambling. He later told a detective: "I want you to know it was not intentional" and said it was a "robbery gone wrong." Moore said Carter tried to steal his watch.

Green initially denied involvement in the homicide, the complaint said, but later admitted he was there when it happened. He also said: "Actually, my gun did go off, but it didn't hit him though." Green said he and Moore were there to gamble, and he said they both had guns with them. He added that as the gathering came to an end, he saw Carter with a gun underneath his arm, and when Carter started to move the gun, Moore shot Carter. Green said he pulled out his own gun and retreated to see if he'd been shot when Moore then took a gun from Carter. As Green ran away, he said his finger hit the trigger and "insisted" he did not shoot Carter. 

The complaint said Green's claims were "consistent with the video" – except for his claim of accidentally firing his gun because "the video shows Green briefly extend his arm to his right when running past Carter, at which time shots are fired."

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