Milwaukee police shooting; man charged with burglary

MILWAUKEE - We're learning more about one of the suspects involved in a Milwaukee police shooting. Earlier this month, Milwaukee police shot and killed a burglary suspect who they say had a gun. The surviving suspect in this case has now been criminally charged. 

Orlando Lagar, 34, has been criminally charged in connection with the warehouse burglary that happened near 37th and Lancaster on Saturday, March 8. The officer-involved shooting occurred while he was fleeing the scene.

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Lagar is charged with one count of burglary of a building or dwelling. 

Warehouse burglary & police shooting

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to the area of 37th and Lancaster around 3:15 p.m. that day for a burglary complaint. 

The 911 caller reported that someone had broken into the warehouse he owns and that a subject with two guns had shot at him and then fled.

Responding officers came into contact with two men who matched the description provided by the 911 caller. The two men were walking on train tracks and were advised to stop, but ran. 

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said officers ordered one of the suspects to drop their weapon. An officer then fired at and shot the suspect. The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Anthony Virginia, died. 

The other man, identified as Orlando Lagar, was arrested. The complaint states that Virginia was wearing all black and Lagar was wearing a high-visibility green jacket.

Officer on administrative duty

What we know:

The officer that discharged his firearm is a 43-year-old man with more than 10 years of service. The officer was placed on administrative duty as is routine in police shootings.

911 caller

The backstory:

The 911 caller told police he was driving in the alley behind his warehouse when he saw that a piece of plywood that had been covering a window was on the ground and a children’s slide was underneath that window. 

He said that he climbed onto the slide, looked inside his warehouse, and saw a man who was wearing all black inside his warehouse, court filings say. 

Per the complaint, the caller said that his brother then arrived at the warehouse and he and his brother went to the alley behind the warehouse where he saw a Chevrolet Express van parked with the engine running. He checked and found that no one was in the van. The van was registered to Anthony Virginia, the complaint states. 

According to the complaint, he told police that while in the alley, he observed a man wearing a green jacket and a woman walking toward the van. He saw that the woman was carrying a purse which he recognized as belonging to his wife and recognized that the purse had been in the warehouse.

The caller said that there was a verbal altercation and the man in the green jacket said that he was armed. He said that this man then discharged a firearm toward him and that the man and the woman ran off in an unknown direction.

Per the complaint, the caller said that he had his brother then went to the front of the warehouse and saw the man who had shot at him walking west on Villard and the man was with another man who was wearing black.

The caller said he and his brother followed the two men while remaining on the phone with the 911 operator. 

Lagar in custody

What they're saying:

On March 9, Orlando Lager was interviewed by Milwaukee police. During this interview, Lagar told police he went to the warehouse with the intent to take property, the complaint states. 

While inside the warehouse, Lagar claims a man came into the building and told them to get out. That's when he ran from the building. Lagar claims he began running west on the train tracks, along with Anthony Virginia, as an officer was chasing them, court filings say. 

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Lagar said Virginia had a gun in his hand and an officer was yelling to drop the gun. Lagar said he saw Virginia lower the gun in the direction of the officer and fire one shot at the officer. The police then shot Virginia. 

Police never mentioned the suspect firing shots at them. 

During this interview, Lagar was asked why, when arrested, he was in possession of ammunition if he did not have a gun. Lagar said that he took the ammunition from the warehouse.

In court

What's next:

Lagar made his initial appearance in court on March 13. Cash bond was set at $1,500. 

Lagar is due back in court on March 31 for an indigency hearing. 

Crime and Public SafetyMilwaukeeNews