Charged: Three men accused of crashing stolen minivan into police wagon, injuring four officers
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Three men have been charged after a stolen minivan struck a marked police prisoner conveyance van early Monday morning, June 16th. Four Milwaukee police officers were injured in the incident.
Charged are:
All three of the men are from Milwaukee.
Stewart faces a number of charges, including:
Wilson is charged with one count of operating a vehicle without the owner's consent (take and drive) as party to a crime, repeater, and one count of robbery with use of force as party to a crime, repeater.
Green faces one count of operating a vehicle without the owner's consent (take and drive) as party to a crime, repeater.
A criminal complaint against the men says around 3:35 a.m. Monday, June 16th, an MPD officer was driving a marked, MPD wagon with three officers as passengers.
The complaint says two officers were seated in the back of the van with a combative prisoner who was being transported to the hospital.
As the police wagon drove southbound on North 35th Street and crossed into the intersection of West Brown Street, the police wagon was struck by a Dodge Caravan traveling at a high rate of speed -- headed westbound on West Brown Street.
The complaint says the force of the collision forced the police wagon into a cement light pole.
The Dodge Caravan continued onto North 35th Street for approximately 150 feet, where it stopped.
The complaint says an officer following the police wagon noticed the Dodge Caravan didn't have its headlights activated, and disregarded the flashing red light at the intersection.
The complaint says the officer noticed two black men exit the Dodge Caravan and take off on foot. The officer yelled "police, stop" -- but lost sight of the men.
Another officer following the police wagon said he saw three suspects exit the Dodge Caravan and run.
That officer responded to the police wagon and found one officer bleeding profusely from the nose and mouth, and observed immediate facial swelling. The complaint says this officer fell to the ground as he exited the back of the police wagon -- complaining of difficulty breathing and facial pain.
The complaint says a second officer fell out of the passenger seat of the police wagon, onto the ground.
Milwaukee Fire Department officials arrived on scene and all four officers who were inside the police wagon were taken to the hospital.
One of the officers suffered a right orbital fracture, multiple face fractures, a broken nose and a dislocated jaw. He will require reconstructive surgery to repair the damage.
Another officer lost consciousness during the crash, and suffered a possible concussion. He was treated for pain to his right wrist, a laceration to his right forearm and pain to his head and neck.
The third officer lost consciousness as a result of the crash and was treated for a severe strain and muscle damage to his right ankle, as well as a contusion to his head.
The fourth officer was treated for contusions to the left side of his body.
The complaint says several police officers responded to the scene of the crash in an attempt to apprehend the suspects.
The complaint says Otis Green was found hiding underneath a vehicle parked in a fenced lot in the 1900 block of North 33rd Street.
The complaint says Montel Wilson was discovered sitting on the porch in the 1900 block of North 34th Street. He was found to be sweating profusely and had an elevated heart rate. The complaint says he told police his grandmother lived at the home -- but residents at the address told police they didn't know who Wilson was.
The complaint says Wallace Stewart was located laying on the ground in the northeast corner of the gangway in the 1900 block of North 34th Street -- attempting to conceal himself.
Police were able to determine that the Dodge Caravan was likely stolen because it had damage to its ignition.
Police contacted the vehicle's listed owner, who told police she had last seen her van around 12:45 a.m., when it was parked outside her residence in the 3400 block of South 20th Street.
The complaint says when police responded to the residence on South 20th Street -- they discovered a Dodge Stratus -- stolen from a man in the 900 block of North Hawley Road.
The complaint says police investigated, to determine whether any other incidents happened in the area the Dodge Caravan was stolen from.
The complaint says police learned a robbery was reported to have occurred on June 16th around 2:00 a.m.
The victim had contacted police to report that he was robbed by two black men in their 20s.
The victim told police he was walking home from his girlfriend's house, and the men were walking behind him.
The complaint says the victim told police the men hit him with closed fists to the back -- causing him to fall to the ground.
The complaint says the victim told police the men kicked him and told him to be quiet -- or they would kill him. The men then took his iPhone and gray backpack -- which contained his work clothes, before fleeing northbound on South 20th Street.
The complaint says when Wilson was taken into custody and his property was inventoried, a black iPhone 4s was located on his property. That phone was revealed to belong to the robbery victim.
Police were able to interview Wilson -- and the complaint says he told police he was picked up by Stewart and Green. Wilson told police he was in the rear passenger seat of the Caravan when it crashed -- saying Green was the front passenger, and Stewart was driving.
The complaint says Wilson denied taking part in the robbery.
Police were able to interview Green, and the complaint says he told police he met up with Stewart and Wilson around 9:00 p.m.
Green told police they were picked up by two unknown individuals -- driving to a gas station on the way to Froedtert.
The complaint says the men observed a Stratus in a parking lot. Green told police one of the men peeled the column on the Stratus and he, Stewart and Wilson got in.
The complaint says Green told police Stewart was driving because Wilson did not know how.
The complaint says Green told police the men ended up on the south side of Milwaukee -- and were driving around for awhile when the car started sputtering because it was running out of gas.
That's when the complaint says Green told police they spotted a minivan behind a house -- and Green was able to reach into the minivan through a partially open window and unlock it.
The complaint says Green told police they spotted the man with the cell phone out, and Wilson said something like "he got a phone, we need some money."
Green told police he stayed in the car, while Stewart and Wilson ran towards the man -- returning with the phone and the gray backpack.
The complaint says Green told police the men then drove back to the north side -- where they ran a red light -- colliding with the police vehicle.
The complaint says Wallace Stewart was convicted in Milwaukee County of fleeing and resisting an officer, causing substantial bodily harm/soft tissue injury in July of 2012. Due to that conviction, Stewart's driving privilege's were revoked at the time of the incident on Monday, June 16th.
The men are due in court for their preliminary hearings on July 1st.