2021 Milwaukee killings, man sentenced to decades in prison

MILWAUKEE - Editor's note: This report was updated to correct modifications to charges entered in online court records.

A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to decades in prison in connection with three separate 2021 killings, two of which happened minutes apart.

In court

The backstory:

Quenterrius Hamilton, 19, was 16 years old when prosecutors charged him as an adult in the shooting deaths of 19-year-old Kalysta Baker and 15-year-old Jacob Howard. The shootings happened minutes apart.

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Court records show prosecutors later charged Hamilton with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless injury and armed robbery for a crime that took place on May 23, 2021, and first-degree reckless homicide for a crime that happened on June 7, 2021. 

Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)

In February, more than three years after the victims' deaths, a jury convicted Hamilton of felony murder, two counts of first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless injury, armed robbery and misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon.

Hamilton was sentenced to 95 years in prison on Friday, March 21.

Fatal shootings minutes apart

Dig deeper:

Police responded to separate shootings that happened minutes apart on May 2, 2021. A criminal complaint said police tracked Hamilton's cellphone, which placed him at both shootings at the times they were reported.

Prosecutors said Hamilton and Howard stole a car on April 29 and planned to go for a drive in it on May 1, according to Howard's sister. Additionally, Howard's brother told police he believed Howard stole his AR-15 rifle from his bedroom the night before the shootings.

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The complaint states cellphone data showed Hamilton was messaging a 19-year-old woman – since identified as Kalysta Baker – in an attempt to buy Xanax, but in an interview with police, he said he only made plans to rob her.

Instead, around 4:50 a.m. on May 2, court filings said surveillance video showed someone got out of a car at 92nd and Sheridan. The person approached the victim, who then fell to the ground. Officers found Baker dead in the street with gunshot wounds to her stomach and head. Detectives found no pills on her person.

Kalysta Baker with niece

Jacob Howard

About 30 minutes after that, prosecutors said police found Howard dead with gunshot wounds in an alley near 37th and Marion – more than four miles away. Officers again used surveillance video, which they said showed a driver and passenger getting out of the car. The passenger, described as much shorter than the driver, stood near the car, backed up and then fell down.

According to police, investigators found rifle casings at the 37th and Marion scene that matched those found at the previous shooting near 92nd and Sheridan, helping piece the case together.