Milwaukee fatal shootings, police chase; man accused

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is accused of killing two people on Monday, Dec. 23 – and leading police on a high-speed chase hours later.

Prosecutors charged 27-year-old Valentin Santana with five felonies in the case. Court records show it is not his first run-in with the law.

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Fatal shooting

Police were called to a home near 38th and Nash on the city's north side around 1:35 p.m. A Hyundai Santa Fe appeared to have crashed into a utility pole at the scene.

Prosecutors said one victim, identified as 24-year-old Deontay Long, was found collapsed near the wreck with multiple gunshot wounds. The second victim, identified as 36-year-old Rodney Walls, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the SUV's front passenger seat. Both men died as a result of their injuries.

Police presence at 38th and Nash, Milwaukee

Investigators determined Long had rented the Hyundai through a rental company. Prosecutors said Walls had drugs and $400 in his pockets. Neither victim had a gun on their person, and no weapon was found inside the SUV. Investigators also noted a trail of blood, which was "consistent with" Long jumping out of the driver's seat of the SUV while it was still in motion.

Long was a basketball standout at Washington High School who, in 2018, pleaded guilty to involvement in the armed robbery of a delivery driver and stealing a car.

The complaint states nine bullet casings were found in the area. All nine were taken for ballistics testing, which determined they all came from the same gun. Further investigation determined the shooter was sitting in the backseat of the SUV.

Security video timeline

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from throughout the area. The following is what cameras captured, according to the complaint:

• 1:20 p.m. – The Hyundai parked near Howie and Melvina – several blocks west of the homicide scene. Video showed Long knock on the door of a home on Howie Place, looking for someone named "Tino," before getting back into the SUV.
• Court filings said someone who knew Santana later told investigators they knew Santana as "Tino" and said Santana moved to the home on Howie Place a few months earlier.
• 1:25 p.m. – A suspect wearing a hooded sweatshirt with a distinct white marking on the chest came outside and got into the backseat of the Hyundai. The video also captured sound of an argument.
• 1:27 p.m. – The Hyundai pulled away with the suspect still in the vehicle.
• 1:34 p.m. – The Hyundai hit the pole near 38th and Nash. It also showed the suspect – identified by the hoodied sweatshirt with the disting white marking on the chest – run from the area and through an alley with a gun in his hand.
• 1:42 p.m. – A woman left the home on Howie Place and drove away in a Chevrolet Malibu.
• 1:51 p.m. – The Chevrolet returned to the home on Howie Place; sirens could be heard in the background. The suspect, identified again by the hooded sweatshirt, got out of the backseat and went inside. The woman also got out and went inside.
• 2:26 – The suspect "appears to be removing large amounts of items and putting them into" the Chevrolet. The suspect walked away, while the woman drove off in the Chevrolet.

Police chase

Hours later, around 8:10 p.m., police spotted a gray Nissan Rogue on southbound I-94. The complaint states the Nissan was driving without any lights on, and the officer pulled the Nissan over near Grange Avenue.

The officer ordered the driver out of the vehicle. Prosecutors said the driver was walking toward officers, as directed, when the front passenger – later identified as Santana – jumped into the driver's seat and took off.

Officers pursued the Nissan east on the Airport Spur before it got off and fled north on Howell Avenue. Court filings said the chase turned onto Kinnickinnic Avenue and then west, where the Nissan got back onto the interstate at Lapham Boulevard and merged onto I-94 west.

I-94 near 16th Street

While passing under the 16th Street viaduct, prosecutors said the Nissan tried to swerve around another vehicle, lost control and hit a guard rail. The driver, Santana, got out and ran up the embankment. He was taken into custody roughly 50 yards from the scene of the crash.

The chase stretched just over nine miles, according to court filings, during which speeds exceeded 100 mph, the Nissan ran multiple red lights, nearly hit other vehicles and drove into oncoming traffic.

In court

In all, Santana is charged with:

• First-degree reckless homicide (two counts)
• Possession of a firearm by a felon
• First-degree recklessly endangering safety
• Operating a motor vehicle to flee/elude an officer

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Santana was previously convicted of fleeing and second-degree recklessly endangering safety in 2022.

"He kills two people, he flees. He has a prior record for fleeing. This is a bad fleeing," said Josh Milder, Milwaukee County assistant district attorney. "He has a history of convictions. Based on all these factors, the high cash is appropriate."

A court commissioner set Santana's bond at $300,000 on Friday.