Milwaukee homicide, woman accused of arranging man's killing
Ashanti Davis
MILWAUKEE - A man was fatally shot on Milwaukee's north side in November. Now, a woman is accused of arranging to have him killed.
Prosecutors charged 25-year-old Ashanti Davis with solicitation of first-degree intentional homicide, and her cash bond was set at $100,000 on Saturday. Court filings did not identify the shooter.
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The shooting
The shooting happened near 87th and Carmen. Milwaukee police were called to the scene around 1:20 a.m. on Nov. 1. When they got there, they found the 32-year-old victim shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Court filings said three bullet casings were found near the victim's body. The medical examiner's office ruled his cause of death a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.
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The investigation
Prosecutors said Davis spoke to police at the scene. According to a criminal complaint, she said she was in an "on-again, off-again" relationship with the victim. She said they had just gotten out of a car when two "masked men" told them to lie down and empty their pockets. She said she heard one gunshot, and the men ran away.
Davis gave detectives her phone number. Prosecutors said research into that phone number revealed phone calls that led a detective to believe Davis had arranged to have the victim killed during a fake robbery.
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The complaint states Davis received multiple phone calls from "an inmate at a correctional institution." Investigators determined Davis and the inmate were in an ongoing "romantic relationship." Those phone calls included:
- Oct. 28: Davis told the man "baby daddy, boom, pop, boom."
- Oct. 29: Davis said she "got a cat to kill the rat" and explained she had "to speak in riddles because the call is monitored."
- Oct. 31: Davis said "it's going to happen real soon," and she was "trying to get a (expletive) put on the floor."
- Nov. 1: Roughly 12 hours after the homicide, Davis said "they killed him" and "people think (Davis) had something to do with it." She said she felt bad, and the man told her "that's what you wanted." Davis then asked the man why he would "say that on a recorded call."
Detectives interviewed Davis on Dec. 30. Court filings said she denied setting up the homicide or the robbery. Detectives played a recording of the phone call in which she said she "got a cat to kill the rat;" she acknowledged it was her voice, but denied she was referring to a homicide. She "fumbled with explaining" what the call was about, if not the homicide.