Convicted in the shooting death of his uncle, 28-year-old man sentenced to 12 years in prison

MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- A 28-year-old Milwaukee man, charged in connection with the shooting death of his uncle in May of 2016 near 24th Place and Burleigh was sentenced to prison.

In December, Perry Wallace pleaded guilty to one count of second degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon.

Perry Wallace

On Thursday, February 23rd, Wallace was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison, and 10 years extended supervision, with credit for 277 days time served.

45-year-old Robert Thomas was killed in this shooting.

 

According to a criminal complaint, officers were called out to the area near N. 24th Place and W. Burleigh Street around 7:45 p.m. on May 23rd, 2016 to investigate a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers were flagged down by several people who directed them to a field behind a residence in the area. There, officers located Robert Thomas lying on the ground. He suffered a gunshot wound to the face -- and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The complaint indicates that officers observed the victim wearing a knapsack on the front of his body that contained metal plates and a sledgehammer with a broken handle. The officers also observed a stew pot lying in the grass near the victim. At that time, family members informed the officers that Wallace and Thomas lived together in a basement -- and that they both were schizophrenic.

The criminal complaint states, "according these family members, it was the victim’s custom to wear the stew pot as a helmet. Recovered from the victim’s person were a large knife, numerous unspent cartridges of varying calibers, and a length of metal pipe with a bullet jammed into one end."

During an interview with investigators, Wallace said "that he and his uncle got into an argument on the above date because his uncle would not shut the door. Wallace states that the argument became a physical fight. Wallace states that he punched his uncle, threw bricks at him, and struck him on the head with a metal pole.  The defendant states that he retrieved his shotgun from the basement, brought it out of the house and into the backyard, pointed it at his uncle’s face, and fired the weapon."

An autopsy found innumerable shotgun pellet strikes to the victim's neck, face and head.