Man charged in road rage shooting that killed 3-year-old Brooklyn Harris pleads not guilty

MILWAUKEE --  Antonio Bratcher, the man charged for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 3-year-old Brooklyn Harris, was in court Thursday, July 25 for his preliminary hearing -- where he pleaded not guilty.

Bratcher faces the following criminal charges:

During Bratcher's preliminary hearing Thursday, a Milwaukee Police Department detective testified, and a motion to dismiss the case from the defense was denied. Probable cause was found for further proceedings, and Bratcher was bound over for trial. A scheduling conference was set for Aug. 19.

According to the criminal complaint, Harris' mother went to pick up a friend and her child on Saturday, July 13. Harris' mother was driving a white vehicle. Her friend sat in the passenger seat, and their four children were in the back.

The complaint said they began to pull away from the curb near 42nd and Bonny Place when Harris' mother saw an SUV with pink lettering across the top of the windshield stopped behind them. Investigators said as Harris' mother pulled away, she heard a gunshot and saw the rear window was shattered. Her daughter, Brooklyn, had fallen over in her seat.

According to the criminal complaint, Brooklyn Harris suffered a gunshot wound to the head, and did not survive.

Harris' mother told investigators she continued to drive, and told the other three children to "get onto the rear floorboards." Near 42nd and Concordia, Harris' mother spotted the black SUV again, and observed the driver point a handgun at their car and shoot twice more.

Officers located the SUV and a pursuit ensued, reaching speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour. Authorities said the fleeing SUV blew through several stop signs before crashing near 27th and Galena -- near Tiefenthaler Park. The driver fled the scene. Milwaukee police began searching house to house in the area of the crash, and Bratcher was found hiding under a front porch. Prosecutors said he tried running from police again before being apprehended. A fingerprint found on the recovered gun linked Bratcher to the shooting, prosecutors said.

Bratcher made his initial appearance in court the afternoon charges were filed. Cash bond was set at $250,000.

Harris was buried at Glen Oak Cemetery where family members said their final farewells.