Homicide charges filed in fatal shooting of pregnant woman, struck while on party bus
Antion Haywood
MILWAUKEE -- Anytime you go in and out of a bar, you need your ID. Well, at Gene's Supper Club on Feb. 1, they scanned the IDs of everyone who came through the doors -- including the ID of the suspect charged in the fatal shooting of a pregnant Milwaukee woman.
If there is one gift a mother can give, it's the gift of life. Annie Sandifer died doing just that. The 33-year-old was pregnant with her sixth child when she was shot and killed outside Gene's Supper Club on Feb. 1.
She died, but her baby survived -- born at just 26 weeks after an emergency c-section.
Police now say 31-year-old Antion Haywood was behind the trigger and was inside the club earlier that night. Authorities used his scanned ID to make the connection.
New documents said Haywood was picked up just six days after the shooting during a traffic stop. On Feb. 7, police went to his house and took his car, which matched the suspect car's description, while he sat in jail. Three days later, the Milwaukee Police Department asked for help and the FBI offered a $10,000 reward.
"I know that everyone watching is as disgusted as I am with these senseless deaths," said Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales.
The next day, a witness identified Haywood as the gunman, saying he appeared to be drunk when he threw a bottle, got behind the wheel and fired shots out of his sunroof.
Investigators found a magazine hidden in a bag of frozen food and five unspent cartridges that matched those found at the scene.
A life cut short as another one lives, giving the greatest gift of life a mother can give.
Haywood is still in jail on $250,000 bail. The news came just two days before Sandifer's family will hold her funeral services.
Charges filed against Haywood
Haywood faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon.
Police responded to the club around 2:45 a.m. on Feb. 1.
A criminal complaint said the bus that Sandifer was in was parked near 60th and Marion when gunfire came from a vehicle headed southbound on 60th Street at a high rate of speed. Sandifer was struck, and the bus driver called 911, and then his supervisor -- driving the bus to St. Joseph's Hospital, where Sandifer died as a result of a gunshot wound to her head. Medical staff delivered Sandifer's baby boy, Lorenz, by emergency C-section at just 26 weeks. Sandifer left behind four other children, as well.
Lorenz (Annie Sandifer's baby)
Meanwhile, at the scene of the shooting outside Gene's Supper Club, investigators recovered six spent shell casings from the pavement from a .45 caliber weapon. All bore the headstamp, "Fiocchi 45 ACP USA." The complaint said the bus driver indicated a group of approximately 20 men and women was dropped off at the club around 1:45 a.m., and by around 2:30 a.m., the bus was parked south of the club to allow the group to re-board. Most had boarded when the driver reported hearing five to six gunshots fired from a silver sedan headed southbound on 60th Street, the complaint said.
A witness among the group told investigators there was no trouble at the club. He said he saw the gray, four-door sedan from which the shots were fired, and said it was possibly a BMW with a sunroof. He said the vehicle stopped near the bus, and a man exited, throwing a glass or bottle into the parking lot. He said the man was staggering and appeared drunk. The driver got back behind the wheel, and performed a U-turn at Marion, before driving off northbound. Soon, the witness said he saw the same BMW headed south on 60th Street -- with the driver firing multiple times through the sunroof, the complaint said.
Investigators used ID records from Gene's Supper Club to determine Haywood and his sister entered the club around 12:45 a.m. -- and determined Haywood was the registered owner of a silver BMW. Haywood was arrested on Feb. 6 during a traffic stop near Hampton Avenue and Fond du Lac Avenue, and prosecutors said the BMW was found at his home the next day.
On Feb. 11, the complaint said the witness identified Haywood as the man who pulled up near the bus in the silver BMW, exited, and threw a glass into the crowd minutes before the shooting.
Haywood's girlfriend was arrested on Feb. 11, and the complaint said she indicated Haywood owns a .45 caliber pistol, along with two other weapons. She said when Haywood was arrested, she received a call from his sister -- asking her to hide his gun, and assumed she was referring to the .45. She told investigators she couldn't find it, but hid the magazine in a bag of frozen food, and bullets in a bottle of liquid soap.
The complaint said investigators found five unspent cartridges in the home that matched those recovered from the scene -- with the same "Fiocchi 45 ACP USA" inscription. A concealed carry permit was found in a dresser drawer, along with keys to the BMW.
60th and Congress fatal shooting
Milwaukee police seek help for Sandifer family
Milwaukee Police Department
Milwaukee police asked for donations of baby and newborn supplies, along with new or slightly used toys or educational supplies for kids up to the age of 10, along with monetary donations for Sandifer's family. Additionally, police were working to organize a pizza and hot dog fundraiser for the family.
Meanwhile, in the days before charges were filed, loved ones continued to ask the community for prayers as they prepared to lay Sandifer to rest.
If you would like to donate and help with funeral costs, or even the baby's extensive medical bills, a GoFundMe fundraiser can be found by CLICKING HERE.