Deondre Townsend: Life in prison for 2019 homicide
Deondre Townsend
MILWAUKEE - Deondre Townsend, 21, will spend life in prison with the possibility of parole in 40 years for the October 2019 shooting death of a neighbor, according to court documents.
The then 18-year-old was involved in a home invasion on Oct. 16, 2019, that left a 46-year-old woman dead in her own home on 42nd and Auer, according to a criminal complaint.
Townsend was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, party to a crime, and armed robbery, party to a crime in the case. He was found guilty in a jury trial and was sentenced Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.
According to a criminal complaint, the victim's daughter called the police after finding her mother dead in her kitchen on the morning of Oct. 17. An autopsy found the woman had died from a gunshot wound to the stomach and head on Oct. 16, and her death was ruled a homicide.
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Various items from the home were missing including two televisions, a laptop, jewelry, a lockbox and the victim's car. The car was found a few days later behind a residence near 53rd and Hadley. The plates on the vehicle were not registered to the victim, but to the defendant.
Police made contact with the defendant -- who lives at the above location – and he admitted to switching the plates and driving the car. He was then arrested in connection to the case.
A search of Townsend's home found various pieces of property stolen from the victim and a gun with bullets that matched the one found in the victim's spine, a complaint said.
In a statement to police, Townsend admitted to being hard up on cash and wanted to rob a woman in the neighborhood he used to live in as she seemed to be an "easy target." He said he planned a ruse to knock on the victim's door and ask to use the bathroom to gain entry to the home. He admitted to shooting the woman twice and stealing items from the home with help from his brother. He admitted he was in need of a car and cash after his was towed. He also admitted to breaking open the lockbox, finding a gun and selling it to a known convicted felon, the complaint read.
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