Milwaukee man gets probation for 2020 murder
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County judge sentenced Jahki Meneese Williams on Friday, Sept. 1 to five years of probation for a 2020 fatal shooting.
Meneese Williams pleaded guilty in June to felony murder. At sentencing, the judge sentenced the 22-year-old to five years prison and six years extended supervision – but then stayed the sentence, instead placing him on probation.
Meneese Williams is to serve a year in the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center, complete 1,000 hours of community service and pay restitution as conditions of his probation.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
According to a criminal complaint, a car pulled up at Milwaukee Police District 3 the night of July 29, 2020. There were four people in the car – one laying on the back seat with a gunshot wound to the head.
As the victim was being removed from the car, "a bullet casing fell out of the car," the complaint states. Lifesaving attempts were unsuccessful, and the victim died at the scene.
Scene outside Milwaukee Police District 3 on July 29, 2020
Police interviewed the other three people who were in the car, and they all provided similar stories. The three said they had gone to the area near 50th and Center to sell marijuana when Meneese Williams and the victim got into the car.
The complaint states they told Meneese Williams the marijuana was in the trunk of the car, and he got out while the victim, who had a gun, stayed in the back seat. The driver took off – leaving Meneese Williams behind.
As the car sped away, the complaint states the victim and another passenger were fighting. The passenger told police he was "fearing for his life and did not know what else he could do but shoot" the victim. The people in the car called 911 and were instructed to drive to a police station, so they drove to District 3.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
Through the course of the investigation, Milwaukee police developed Meneese Williams as a suspect in this shooting. He was arrested on Sept. 28, 2022.
When questioned by police, Meneese Williams initially denied knowing anything about the drug deal and shooting – and denied knowing the victim. But the complaint states he later changed his story.
Later, the complaint states Meneese Williams "admitted he had arranged to buy marijuana from someone over Snapchat" and that "the plan was to rip the people off of their marijuana." He said he got out of the car to check the trunk for marijuana when it took off, and he "assumed they were going to let (the victim) out" when he heard "at least one gunshot."
Meneese Williams told police he learned the victim was killed "at some point the next day."