Second person charged in 17th & Greenfield homicide; this one, a 19-year-old man
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A 19-year-old Milwaukee man is the second to be charged in connection with the fatal shooting death of Nikola Maric.
Hawke Strickland faces one count of first degree reckless homicide as party to a crime, use of a dangerous weapon in the case.
The other individual charged in this case, 23-year-old Zachary Bryant, faces the following charges: first degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon as party to a crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Police were called out to 17th and Greenfield shortly before 9:00 p.m. on August 28th. There, they discovered Maric lying in the street with a gunshot wound to his chest.
The criminal complaint filed against Bryant says Maric had a very faint heartbeat. When rescue officials arrived at the scene, Maric had no heartbeat and no pulse. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.
An autopsy determined Maric died as a result of one gunshot wound to his chest.
The complaint against Bryant says police spoke with an adult witness at the scene, who said she was in the area when she observed two African-American men walking eastbound on the north side of Greenfield Avenue. The complaint says this witness was able to identify the men as Zachary Bryant and Hawke Strickland via a lineup at the Milwaukee Police Department.
The complaint says the witness told police she saw Bryant and Strickland cross to the south side of Greenfield Avenue and have an encounter with Maric, who was walking northbound in an alley nearby.
The complaint says the witness saw Maric, Bryant and Strickland having a brief conversation -- before the witness says she heard a gunshot -- and saw Maric fall to the ground.
The witness says it was then that she saw Bryant and Strickland flee the scene, according to the complaint.
Another witness picked out Strickland in a lineup at the Milwaukee Police Department. The complaint says this witness told police that on August 28th, she observed Strickland and another man arguing with Maric near 17th and Greenfield when she heard a gunshot. The complaint says this witness told police she observed Strickland as if he was holding something in his hand. The witness says she saw Strickland and the other man running from the scene, saying she observed a gun in Strickland's hand.
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