1 of 3 charged in connection with burglary at liquor store during unrest pleads guilty
MILWAUKEE -- One of three men charged in connection with a crime at Clark's Beer & Liquor store that allegedly happened during the first night of the Sherman Park unrest in August -- in the wake of the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith by a Milwaukee police officer has reached a plea deal in the case against him.
Joseph Lindsey
22-year-old Joseph Lindsey of Milwaukee faces one misdemeanor count of entry into/onto building/construction site/room.
In court on Monday, October 24th, Lindsey pleaded guilty to the charge.
Lindsey was then sentenced to serve 52 days in the House of Correction -- with credit for 52 days time served.
Durrell Jones, Joseph Lindsey, Devon Love
The two others charged in this case are 46-year-old Durrell Jones of West Allis, and 20-year-old Devon Love.
Love faces the same charge as Lindsey -- one misdemeanor count of entry into/onto building/construction site/room. He has pleaded not guilty and will next be in court on November 11th for a status conference.
Jones faces one felony count of burglary of a building or dwelling. He has pleaded not guilty, and will be in court on November 30th for a status conference.
According to the criminal complaint in these cases, police were dispatched to Clark's Beer and Liquor near 47th and Burleigh around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 14th because the burglar alarm was sounding at the business. Officers had already been in the area conducting crowd control due to the unrest that followed the officer-involved shooting of 23-year-old Sylville Smith near 44th and Auer.
Clark Beer and Liquor, Milwaukee
Officers noticed "several windows on the south side of the business were broken out and a glass door on the west side of the building was damaged." They ordered people who were in the building to come out. At that point, Jones and Lindsey emerged and were placed into custody.
The complaint says "officers continued to order any people out, indicating that a K-9 would be entering to search for additional people. When no one responded, a law enforcement K-9 was sent into the building." The dog located Love and he was placed into custody.
The complaint indicates the owner of the store first noticed something was going on at his business around 12:30 a.m. He accessed his business security cameras from home. Officers had responded to the area -- and the crowd dispersed.
Clark Beer and Liquor, Milwaukee
When interviewed by police, Jones said "he was inside the store to get some beer. He knew the store was closed, and he wasn't supposed to be inside. He said that he didn't get anything because the police arrived."Around 1:10 a.m., surveillance video shows Lindsey and Love enter the business.
The complaint says Love "went inside to find a friend he was told was there, not to steal anything."
Lindsey told police "he entered the store through the window, to find the person he knew whom he had seen outside the store. He said there was merchandise in the store, but he didn't touch it."