Shooting on Milwaukee's south side, man accused of reckless homicide
Jayson Rivera-Montalvo
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is charged with second-degree reckless homicide for a Sept. 9 shooting on the city's south side.
Prosecutors accuse 29-year-old Jayson Rivera-Montalvo in the death of his girlfriend.
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Shooting scene
It happened near 24th and National, just south of Mitchell Park. Police said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, with a gunshot wound to her head and a gun next to her, on a bed. The medical examiner's office identified her as 39-year-old Natalie Ramos-Rodriguez.
Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)
The gun had no round in the chamber and no magazine inside it. A detective later found a magazine near the bedroom door. A single bullet casing was found on top of a dresser in the bedroom, and a preliminary forensic examination found it was fired from the gun that was found next to the victim.
Prosecutors said a 20-year-old man and two 15-year-old girls were also at the house at the time. One of them said they heard a "loud bang" before hearing Rivera-Montalvo say "it was an accident." A witness said Rivera-Montalvo's face was pale as he ran out of the house.
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The 20-year-old ran after Rivera-Montalvo, per the complaint, but said he eventually stopped following Rivera-Montalvo and went back to the house. The 20-year-old then found the victim and called police.
Rivera-Montalvo had purchased the gun off the street a few days before the shooting, according to the complaint. Witnesses told police he had been "handling the gun irresponsibly" and "playing around with it" since he got it.
In custody
Prosecutors said Rivera-Montalvo told detectives he was making the bed – shaking out the blankets – when the gun fell off the bed, hit the floor and went off. He said he "panicked and ran away" when he saw the victim had been shot.
According to the complaint, detectives found it "improbable" that the gun went off when it hit the floor as Rivera-Montalvo described. Police said, when that type of gun is fired, the magazine automatically and immediately feeds another round into the chamber. Instead, they concluded, Rivera-Montalvo removed the magazine before firing the gun and "likely believed there was not a live round chambered" when he pulled the trigger with the weapon pointed at the victim's head.
Court records show Rivera-Montalvo is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $75,000 cash bond.