Dineen Park shooting; 2 men accused, victim declined to sell 'weed'
Brandon Zollicoffer, Gerald Baggett
MILWAUKEE - Two Milwaukee men are now charged in connection with a shooting that happened near Dineen Park in January. A man who went to Dineen Park to smoke his "weed" was shot and wounded.
The accused are 18-year-old Brandon Zollicoffer and 20-year-old Gerald Baggett. They face the following criminal counts:
- First-degree reckless injury (Zollicoffer, Baggett)
- Attempt armed robbery (Zollicoffer, Baggett)
- Sell/possess/use/transport machine gun (Zollicoffer)
According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy responded on Jan. 28 to Froedtert Hospital to interview a person who had been shot and wounded at Dineen Park.
The victim told the deputy he went to the park "to smoke marijuana in his car." While there, two men parked near his vehicle and one approached his vehicle. The man, who was masked, asked the victim for some marijuana, the complaint says. The victim said no repeatedly. At that point, the complaint says the masked man "reached into his right jacket pocket and produced a tan handgun. (The victim) stated he ducked his head down and almost in between his legs and pressed the accelerator and suspect #1 began to discharge his firearm at (the victim's) vehicle," the complaint says.
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After leaving the parking lot, the victim noticed his windshield was shattered, and he was bleeding. He was later taken to Froedtert Hospital for treatment. According to doctors, the victim "was shot in the rear of his neck and the bullet traveled into his right shoulder, narrowly missing his spinal cord," the complaint says.
Shooting near 78th and Townsend, Milwaukee
Back at the shooting scene, law enforcement recovered surveillance video of the incident. That video helped them determine the make and model of the vehicle driven by the shooter. The SUV had a "black roof rack which appeared to be unique."
On Feb. 4, detectives reviewed a license plate recognition camera system. It located a vehicle matching the description in this shooting -- and identified an Illinois license plate. The complaint says detectives checked the plates -- and learned the plates had been stolen on Jan. 28 -- the same day as the shooting at Dineen Park.
Detectives located the SUV on Feb. 5 near 2nd and Nash in Milwaukee. They spotted a young man, later identified as Baggett, open the driver door of the SUV and walk back into a residence. Later that same morning, Baggett left the residence again and several unmarked squads activated their lights and sirens and blocked the SUV. Baggett managed to escape -- and fled the neighborhood at a high rate of speed. A short time later, Baggett "hit an unmarked squad head on and the (SUV) became disabled," the complaint says. Baggett ran from the SUV, but he was arrested moments later.
In a search of the SUV, detectives recovered a mask matching the one worn by the second person at Dineen Park.
Back at the residence Baggett had left, law enforcement located two firearms -- "a Glock 19 9mm pistol with an auto sear attached along with a Polymer 80 firearm also with an auto sear attached," the complaint says.
Dineen Park shooting; man shot after declining to sell some 'weed'
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says a man who went to Dineen Park on Sunday, Jan. 28 to smoke his "weed" was shot and wounded.
On Feb. 6, the Polymer 80 was test fired and "correlated to the casings recovered from the Dineen Park shooting investigation," the complaint says.
In an interview with a detective, Baggett said he got the Illinois license plate from a friend. Baggett was confronted with cellphone location information that placed Baggett at Dineen Park at the time of the shooting. He stated "he had nothing to do with the shooting," the complaint says. Baggett also stated a day after the shooting, a friend told him what happened. Baggett said "he saw (this friend) wearing a black and red balaclava mask with strings -- the same mask described by the victim," the complaint says. Based on the information provided by Baggett, authorities believe he "aided and abetted both the attempted armed robbery of the marijuana and the shooting," the complaint says.
A detective interviewed Zollicoffer on May 9. He was shown the Polymer 80 handgun -- and Zollicoffer "admitted his DNA would be on that gun," the complaint says. Zollicoffer initially denied being at Dineen Park. But when a detective told Zollicoffer he did not believe his story, Zollicoffer stated Baggett drove him and two others to Dineen park in the SUV. He stated "he approached the victim's vehicle and attempted to fake cash app the victim for marijuana," the complaint says. Zollicoffer told the detective the victim "wasn't going for it" and began reaching around -- he believed the victim was possibly reaching for a gun. The complaint says Zollicoffer "stated he took out a gun from his waistband and shot at him with the Polymer 80 handgun that had a switch attached to it."
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Zollicoffer made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Tuesday, May 14. Cash bond was set at $40,000.
Baggett was in court for his initial appearance on Feb. 24. Cash bond was set at $10,000.