Sentenced: One of two men accused in the shooting death of Nikola Maric near 17th & Greenfield

MILWAUKEE -- A 19-year-old Milwaukee man, one of two charged in connection with the shooting death of Nikola Maric has been sentenced in the case against him.

Hawke Strickland

A jury found Hawke Strickland guilty of one count of first degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon after he pleaded not guilty to the charge.

In court on Monday, June 15th, Strickland was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision.

He has been ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution to the "Crime Victim Compensation Program," and more than $3,000 in restitution to Maric's family.

24-year-old Zachary Bryant of Milwaukee is also charged in this case -- facing one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. A first degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, as party to a crime charge was dismissed by prosecutors.

Bryant has a jury trial scheduled to begin on June 29th.

Police were called out to 17th and Greenfield shortly before 9:00 p.m. on August 28th, 2014. 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.

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 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. She said she 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.

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. 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.