19-year-old who left friends for dead after crashing stolen vehicle pleads guilty to 3 charges
Lontrell Lee
MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee man who left his friends for dead after a crash near 31st and Capitol in January has reached a plea deal in the case against him.
19-year-old Lontrell Lee on Monday, August 7th pleaded guilty to three charges:
Lee faced a total of eight charges in the case. He will be sentenced on October 13th.
According to the criminal complaint, police on January 20th located a Volkswagen Passat taken in an armed robbery that occurred around 7:15 p.m. near 29th and Villard. Around 8:00 p.m., officers attempted to stop the Volkswagen, but the driver refused and sped off. The officers pursued the vehicle.
Teens killed in crash at 31st and Capitol on January 20th
The complaint indicates the Volkswagen was traveling at speeds estimated at 60-70 mph -- and ran through four-way stop signs at two different intersections.
Officials say at the intersection of 31st and Capitol, the driver of the stolen Volkswagen, later identified as Lontrell Lee, failed to stop at a red light and collided with a Chevy Cavalier traveling on 31st Street. The collision caused the Volkswagen to strike a concrete pole -- and the vehicle was torn in half.
The complaint indicates Lontrell Lee fled the scene following the crash.
Oscar Rash and Antoine Jones were ejected from the vehicle. Rash was pronounced dead at the scene. Jones was conveyed to the hospital, where he later died.
Oscar Rash and Antoine Jones
Teens killed in crash at 31st and Capitol on January 20th
According to the criminal complaint, while police were processing the Volkswagen, they found a black Nike shoe for a right foot wedged underneath the gas pedal. Investigators noted that each deceased victim had a right shoe that was not a black Nike.
Authorities also recovered a handgun inside the stolen vehicle.
Investigators later spoke with a family member of Lontrell Lee. She states that on January 20th sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Lee came to her home. She claims he was "all scraped up" and wearing a single black Nike shoe on his left foot.
The complaint indicates he later told her he had been driving a stolen vehicle and had fled from the police and crashed into another car while attempting to make a turn. He told her that he saw train tracks near the collision scene, and he ran up the tracks to her residence.
Teens killed in crash at 31st and Capitol on January 20th