FBI's Most Wanted, Terry Strickland, taken into custody on double homicide charges
MILWAUKEE -- 24-year-old Terry Strickland, one of the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is now in custody. The arrest was announced Sunday, January 15th by the FBI and El Paso Police Department.
Strickland was wanted by the FBI after a double fatal shooting in Milwaukee in July. He is facing two counts of first degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon. He'll soon be extradited to Milwaukee from Texas.
Prosecutors say Strickland killed two men in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood in front of multiple witnesses.
Investigators said on July 17th, a fight between a group of seven or eight men ended when Strickland started shooting near 26th and Hopkins on Milwaukee's north side.
Maurice Brown Jr. and Michael Reed died from their injuries.
Witnesses told investigators they saw Strickland pull the trigger.
Double homicide at 26th and Hopkins in July
Double homicide at 26th and Hopkins in July
According to a criminal complaint, investigators interviewed several of these eyewitnesses.
One of the eyewitnesses said her home is located near the scene of the crime. On July 17th, she told investigators she went out on her porch and observed a man armed with a pistol standing over a man who was lying on the sidewalk. The witness told police she saw the man shoot the person on the ground.
Terry Strickland
Another witness, told investigators she was in the area during the incident and observed seven to eight men arguing loudly in the front yard. She observed one man, later identified as Maurice Brown Jr., trying to break up the argument and somehow ended up on the ground. She then observed a man shoot Brown at close range while he was lying on the ground. The witness told investigators she went inside to get out of harm's way and from inside, she heard another gunshot.
"She observed him shoot the man five times," Timothy Graham, MPD detective said.
Both witnesses told investigators they saw the man who pulled the trigger get into a parked black SUV and drive off.
According to the FBI, an arrest warrant was issued for Strickland on July 28th.
Terry Strickland
On October 7th, he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and a federal arrest warrant was issued.
Just after 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 15th, the FBI and El Paso police executed a traffic stop, and Strickland was taken into custody without incident in El Paso, Texas.
"We got a tip from our public call line, our public access line stating that 'hey, I think I recognize this person.' A total of 18 law enforcement personnel from FBI and El Paso PD were involved in this overnight surveillance and arrest operation," Doug Lindquist with the FBI El Paso Division said.
According to officials, Strickland was the 512th person to be placed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, and the 480th to be captured.
He was the fourth captured by FBI El Paso.
FOX6 News spoke with Maurice Brown Jr.'s wife, who said she had been praying for an arrest and justice for her new husband. They were married just months before his murder.
Maurice Brown Jr.
The tipster that helped lead to Strickland's arrest could receive a reward of up to $100,000.
Terry Strickland
Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.