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Kenosha shooting, 'drug deal gone bad' charges
Three men are charged after a Kenosha "drug deal gone bad" led to a shooting – one man killed, and two of the accused wounded – in a church parking lot.
KENOSHA, Wis. - Three men are charged after a Kenosha "drug deal gone bad" led to a shooting – one man killed, and two of the accused wounded – in a church parking lot on June 13.
Anthony Santana and Tayvion Taylor of Kenosha are each charged with felony murder armed robbery. Kevin Alvarez of Zion, Illinois is charged with first-degree reckless homicide.
Two shooting victims showed up at a hospital the night of June 13. One of the victims, identified by prosecutors as Mauricio Alvarez, had been shot in the head. A criminal complaint states Mauricio Alvarez went into cardiac arrest and died at the hospital that night. At the hospital, police spoke to the second victim, 21-year-old Kevin Alvarez, who had been shot in the chest and both thighs.
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The complaint states Kevin and Mauricio Alvarez are brothers and drove from their Zion, Illinois for a drug deal. Police determined the scene was the Grace Lutheran Church parking lot near 60th Street and 22nd Avenue, and the shooting was captured on surveillance. The surveillance showed Kevin Alvarez drop fake cash and drugs at the scene before driving himself and his brother to the hospital.
At the scene, police later found: three bullet casings, $760 fake cash, THC vape cartridges, psilocybin mushrooms (59 grams) and marijuana (58 grams)
Kenosha shooting, 21st Avenue and 60th Street
At around the same time police arrived to the hospital where the Alvarez brothers were, another officer was called to a different hospital for a different shooting victim. There, police spoke to Taylor, who'd been shot in the arm/shoulder. The complaint states Taylor told police the shooting happened at a gas station near 60th Street and 22nd Avenue. He said he was walking to buy a phone when he heard arguing and a gunshot; he then started running home and felt he'd been shot. Surveillance video of the shooting disputed that claim.
Based on the drugs and fake cash found, police suspected a drug deal turned into an attempted robbery. Police reviewed Mauricio Alvarez's phone and found messages with someone hours before the shooting. In those messages, the complaint states they discussed meeting in the "church parking lot" and just before the shooting Mauricio messaged "here." Police later identified the person Mauricio was messaging as a friend of Santana's. Police also learned from a previous case that Taylor and Santana were known associates. Seconds after Mauricio sent the "here" message, two people were seen on surveillance walking toward the parking lot. Minutes after the shooting, Taylor and Santana were seen together at the hospital, the complaint states.
Kenosha shooting, 21st Avenue and 60th Street
The day after the shooting, police were called for a gun found near the shooting scene and "along the flight path" from that scene to Taylor's home. A round in that gun was consistent with bullet casings found in the church parking lot. That same day, detectives spoke to Kevin Alvarez at the hospital. He told them where the gun he used in the shooting was, which detectives later found and identified as a different gun than the one found. A forensic analyst compared the bullet casings to the two guns police recovered, and determined they were a match for casings involved in the shooting.
On June 15, two days after the shooting, police spoke to Kevin Alvarez again. He admitted the shooting was a "drug deal gone bad." Kevin Alvarez said a man – later identified as Santana – got into the back seat of their SUV, and Mauricio Alvarez realized the money was fake. The complaint states Mauricio Alvarez confronted Santana about it, and Santana started shooting. Kevin Alvarez said he then fired back at Santana and another man who was standing outside the SUV – later identified as Taylor.
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The complaint states police later searched a fire pit at Santana's home. Inside, police found an iPhone and a home security camera. There were cut wires hanging out of the wall of the home, consistent with a removed security camera. A woman who lived there, though, said Santana moved out days after the shooting and before police searched the fire pit. A separate search of Taylor's home found a specific holster compatible with one of the two guns used in the shooting.
An autopsy of Mauricio Alvarez, along with Kevin Alvarez's account of where everyone was positioned at the time of the shooting, determined it was Kevin Alvarez's bullet that killed Mauricio Alvarez.
Alvarez and Taylor made the initial court appearances Friday, June 23 – and had cash bond set at $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. Alvarez is also charged with a pair of drug-related counts. Court records show a warrant for Santana's arrest was issued Friday. He is also charged with bail jumping.