Man charged in fatal New Year’s Day shooting said he thought victim was reaching for gun



MILWAUKEE -- A 31-year-old Milwaukee man has been criminally charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Patrick Presley. It happened on the city’s northwest side on Sunday, January 1st. It was the first homicide in 2017 in Milwaukee.

Tiron Grant



Tiron Grant is facing the following charges:


    Milwaukee police say Patrick Presley was fatally shot around 5:00 a.m. inside Dee’s Elegance Bar & Grill after getting into an altercation with at least two other people. Witnesses say it started after a man had been harassing Presley’s fiancee.

    “This guy attempted to grab his fiancee’s hand again. Pat turned to the guy and said, ‘I told you once — she’s here with somebody. What are you doing?’ And before he could finish his sentence, the guy shot him,” said Harvey Scales, Jr., a friend of Presley.

    Patrick Presley



    Presley died on scene, despite life-saving efforts of first responders.

    When investigators arrived on scene, they reviewed security camera footage -- which showed the activity inside and outside of the establishment at the time of the shooting.

    According to the criminal complaint, "the video showed two subjects involved in the shooting. One of the subjects, who was wearing a white dress shirt, is shown in the video throwing a punch at the victim, Presley. The second subject then advances very quickly on the victim with his right arm outstretched. The video shows the victim falling to the floor. The video shows the second subject standing over the victim, right arm still outstretched. Muzzle flash is observed toward the end of this second subject’s arm."

    Fatal shooting at Dee's Elegance Bar & Grill near Fond du Lac and Villard



    The complaint says Presley sustained four gunshot wounds. The medical examiner determined that three of the gunshots caused Presley's death -- and his death was ruled a homicide.

    During an interview with investigators, Tiron Grant stated that he and his cousins were preparing to leave Dee’s Elegance Bar & Grill around 5:00 a.m. when he noticed a woman and said “hi” to her. This caused Presley — who was unknown to Grant—to confront him. Grant states that Presley actually grabbed him by the face and pushed him, according to the criminal complaint.

    Grant told police he thought Presley might be reaching for a gun, so he produced a revolver from his pants pocket and shot Presley multiple times.

    According to the criminal complaint, following the incident, Grant told police "that he disposed of the clothes he was wearing at the time of the shooting and the revolver by hiding them in various different garbage bins in the alleys near 38th Street and North Avenue. After doing this, (Grant stated) that he returned home and confessed the murder to his wife."

    Grant made his initial appearance in court in this case on Friday, January 6th. Probable cause was found for further proceedings and a preliminary hearing was set for Janaury 13th.

    Cash bond has been set at $500,000.

    If convicted on both counts, Grant could face up to 70 years in prison.

    Fatal shooting at Dee's Elegance Bar & Grill near Fond du Lac and Villard