Court binds Cashmeir Armstrong over for trial in triple shooting near 36th and Courtland
Cashmeir Armstrong
MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee County judge found probable cause on Wednesday, May 15 to bind Cashmeir Armstrong over for trial.
Armstrong is charged in connection with a shooting incident that unfolded near 36th and Courtland in Milwaukee on Thursday, April 18 -- leaving three teenagers -- a 13-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl wounded. He faces three counts of first degree recklessly endangering safety, as a party to a crime, use of a dangerous weapon. Armstrong will enter a plea to those charges on June 3.
Cashmeir Armstrong
According to the criminal complaint, officers were called to the area near 36th and Courtland "for a ShotSpotter report of 10 gunshots."
When police arrived on the scene, officers "recovered nine 9mm fired cartridge casings, one federal .40 caliber cartridge casing and one bullet fragment." Their investigation determined three victims had been shot during this incident. One person suffered a gunshot wound to an arm, a second to the foot and hand, and a third victim suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh and arm.
Triple shooting near 36th and Courtland in Milwaukee
Police interviewed one witness to the shooting. That person stated "she observed a series of arguments between seven boys and girls about a girl that had been 'jumped.'" The witness told police she saw a black car pull up in front of the residence near 36th and Courtland -- and that "an African-American male in a black hoodie pointed a firearm in the direction of the building and began firing multiple times." The witness indicated "she then saw a person from the building shoot back at the vehicle, only after the person in the vehicle fired at the crowd of people."
Triple shooting near 36th and Courtland in Milwaukee
A second witness identified Armstrong as the suspect in this case from a photo array. She said she was in the vehicle that Armstrong was in and she "observed the defendant in possession of 'two big (expletive) guns.'" This witness told police "she saw an unknown male with a firearm who shot, and then saw (Armstrong) start shooting."
Police on April 24 said a 14-year-old was criminally charged with four counts of first degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a child in this case.
The complaint said the vehicle Armstrong was in "later fled from police and was involved in a fatal crash" near 40th and North Avenue. Following the shooting, prosecutors said Marcellus Purifoy dropped off the shooter before leading police on a pursuit that ended in a crash near 40th and North. That crash killed Larenzo Jones, 18, who died from his injuries days later. He was a passenger in Purifoy’s vehicle. The crash involved a school bus and a truck. The driver of the truck was hurt, and a juvenile in the school bus also suffered injuries.