Police: 2 West Bend men charged in connection to fatal Milwaukee shooting
Tanzanna Roberts (L) and Kasey Reich (R)
MILWAUKEE -- Two men from West Bend have been charged in connection to a fatal shooting that happened in Milwaukee on Wednesday, June 3.
Kasey Reich, 23, and Tanzanna Roberts, 20, each face one count of second-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime, use of a dangerous weapon.
According to a criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were sent to a scene near Sherman and Locust for a reported shooting and a body in the street around 9 p.m. on June 3. There, officers found the victim unresponsive; he was pronounced dead at the scene by the Milwaukee Fire Department. An autopsy revealed that the victim, previously identified by police as a 19-year-old Milwaukee man, was shot from behind through the torso.
Officers at the scene noted three bullet casings and a silver Toyota Camry at the scene. The Camry was parked on Sherman facing south -- located just north of where the casings were found.
Fatal shooting near Sherman and Locust
The complaint states that a man called 911 concerning the shooting the night it occurred. He described to police that he saw a car -- determined to be the suspects' car -- stop aggressively in front of the victim's car, three suspects got out and the driver quickly fired three gunshots at the victim who had gotten out of his car. The driver got back in the suspect car, but the two others, the caller said, banged on the victim's car and beat the victim before getting back in the suspect vehicle and leaving.
A man who described himself as a "close friend" of the victim spoke to police the next day. He told police that the victim had been involved in a robbery at a West Bend park where he took money from a man's car. The close friend said that the man who was robbed sells drugs and was their "plug" for marijuana. Later that day, the victim, his close friend and others -- including Reich, Roberts and the drug dealer -- were in a social media chat where Roberts threatened to "hunt them down."
Afraid, the victim, his close friend and others went to purchase gun, the complaint states, but were unable to get one. They then went to a house near Sherman and Burleigh, but the person(s) they were looking for were not there. When they went to get back in the car, a car heading southbound on Sherman parked in front of their car at an angle.
The complaint states that the drug dealer got out of the car and yelled at the group. The close friend then yelled: "They got smack!" -- meaning guns. The close friend then ran through nearby yards when he heard gunshots. He was later called and told that the victim has been shot.
According to the complaint, the close friend identified Reich, Roberts and the drug dealer to police.
Fatal shooting near Sherman and Locust
A woman who was with the group at the time of the shooting told police that she also saw the drug dealer get out of the suspect vehicle at the scene, heard the gunshots and saw the drug dealer flee in the suspect vehicle. Another woman who was with the group told police that she saw Reich and, later, the drug dealer get out of the suspect vehicle and heard the gunshots. According to the complaint, both women were inside the silver Toyota Camry as the incident unfolded. One of the women told police that the drug dealer yelled something at her before slamming the Camry's door, getting in the suspect vehicle and leaving.
Roberts, the complaint states, told police that the victim stole $4,000 and a cell phone from the drug dealer's car in West Bend. Roberts, the drug dealer and Reich drove to Milwaukee. Reich drove and had a handgun, Roberts said; he did not recall if the drug dealer had a firearm. After it took place, the three drove back to West Bend.
The complaint states that Reich told Roberts that he knew "that he hit the kid" but that somebody had fired shots at him first. Roberts stated that he only heard the shots from Reich's weapon.
A woman who was with Robert, Reich and others after the shooting told police they talked about hiding the gun. She asked Reich who shot at the victim, but he would not tell her. The next day, she said, they buried the gun on a relative's property.
The Milwaukee Police Department tells FOX6 News that three other people have been arrested in relation to the shooting. Those cases remain under review at the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office