Father killed outside Milwaukee bar, caught in crossfire during fight
MILWAUKEE - A father of three was killed after a shooting on Milwaukee's south side Sunday, June 25.
Family members said Leroy Price was near a fight when the gunfire happened, and he got caught in the crossfire. Prosecutors have filed charges against his accused killer.
"This man was innocent; this man was a father, a hard-working man," said Christina Gaines, a close friend.
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Price's loved ones are grappling with grief.
"We don't know how to deal with it," Gaines said. "We don't know what to do."
Leroy Price
Prosecutors said the shooting began with a fight outside a bar near 13th and Euclid around 2:25 a.m. Surveillance captured Price watching the fight, but he was not involved.
At some point, prosecutors said a gun went off – and one bullet hit Price.
"There was a confrontation, and he was a spectator," said Gaines. "When they started shooting, the bullet ricocheted and got him."
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Police arrested a man named Ricardo Valdez. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree reckless homicide in connection with the deadly shooting.
A witness told police that Valdez was fighting, grabbed a gun from another person, and opened fire.
"Why? For what? He was a father. He was a good man, and now he's gone – for what," said Gaines. "Now your life is, too."
Price leaves behind three daughters. The mother of his children was too distraught to talk with FOX6 News Saturday morning as people gathere to remember him.
Leroy Price and his family
"She's so strong," said Gaines. "That was the love of her life."
Their lives will continue as they mourn a man whose legacy lives on.
"We're just here trying to be strong for his daughters," Gaines said. "That's going to be his legacy. His three beautiful daughters."
Price's family set up a GoFundMe online fundraiser to help with funeral and memorial costs.
Valdez charged, case details
According to a criminal complaint, officers arrived at the scene and found Price. First responders attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Investigators found surveillance video of the fight. The complaint states it showed 30-year-old Ricardo Valdez was one of two people involved in the fight – the other was wearing a white t-shirt with a backpack. In the video, prosecutors said Valdez grabbed a gun from that person while say "gimme that, gimme that."
The complaint states Valdez pointed the gun at the person he was fighting – but it was not fired at that time. When the fight shifted in the camera view, though, a single shot is fired and a "second shot goes off." Valdez was then seen running with the gun to a light-colored Mercedes-Benz.
Ricardo Valdez
Detectives were able to get other surveillance videos in the area which allowed them to get a license plate on the Mercedes-Benz. Investigators later determined the car was registered to the Valdez.
After conducting surveillance on Valdez's home, the complaint states authorities stopped the Mercedez-Benz for a traffic violation and identified the driver as Valdez. A passenger in the car was shown some of the surveillance video from the 13th and Euclid shooting, and the passenger identified Valdez getting out of the driver's seat in that video.
A search warrant of the Valdez's home allowed investigators to recover a black t-shirt and jogging pants – both of which "matched the description of what was observed in the video from the homicide scene,"
Online court records indicate Valdez, 30 appeared in court Saturday morning, July 1. A court official set the cash bond at $150,000.