Prosecutors: Man implicated 2nd man in May 2018 fatal shooting near 38th and Good Hope
Javontae King
MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- Charges were filed Friday, Aug. 30 against Javontae King, 18, of Milwaukee, accused in connection with a fatal shooting that happened during an armed robbery in May 2018. This, after King's co-defendant spoke with investigators as part of a "cooperation agreement" with prosecutors.
Javontae King faces one count of felony murder for the shooting that happened May 18, 2018 near 38th and Good Hope.
Niyoktron Martin was charged in September 2018 with felony murder, as party to a crime. Martin entered a guilty plea to that charge on Aug. 20. A status conference was scheduled for Oct. 2.
According to a criminal complaint, this began with a report of an armed robbery and shooting near 38th and Good Hope around 11:15 a.m. on May 18, 2018. The caller reported two assailants left the scene in two vehicles.
When first responders arrived, a man was found lying in the parking lot, bleeding from the chest. The 25-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators found four spent .380 caliber casings at the scene, and determined they were fired from the same firearm.
Two teachers at a nearby school said they saw three men fighting in the parking lot of an apartment building near the school, and realized they wouldn't be able to take the children outside for recess. They said the men appeared to be fighting over a handgun -- with two men punching and kicking the third man, who was on the ground. The teachers said they heard multiple gunshots, and saw one of the assailants standing over the victim, holding a handgun. The two assailants then got into separate vehicles (one of them the victim's vehicle) and left the scene. The victim's vehicle was later found abandoned near 60th and Fond du Lac.
An autopsy revealed the victim was shot three times. His death was ruled a homicide.
The complaint said police initially focused their investigation on a cousin of Javontae King. That cousin and King's father provided King's telephone number to investigators, who learned King's number was the last to have contact with the victim's phone before the homicide. Additionally, the complaint said King had contact with the victim 10 times, beginning the morning before the shooting.
Less than two minutes after the homicide, the complaint said King called Niyoktron Martin.
Martin told investigators King is his child's mother's cousin, and Martin stayed the night at King's home the night before the shooting.
Martin said on the day of the shooting, King woke him up and asked him to help King "in getting some money back" from King's cousin. Martin said he rode with King and Cornelius Parks, a cousin of Martin, from King's home to 38th and Good Hope.
When they arrived, Martin said he and King exited the vehicle, while Parks stayed inside. The victim was already there, standing alone in the parking lot. Martin said he and King approached, and King demanded money from the victim. The victim refused, and a fight ensued.
According to the complaint, Martin said he joined in the fight to help King, and at one point, he ended up on the ground with the victim. Martin said he saw King produce a pistol. King then shot the victim twice at close rang. Martin said he then got up and watched as King searched through the victim's pockets and clothing -- taking keys, a cellphone, a wallet, and a silver handgun from the victim -- before King shot the victim twice more.
Martin told investigators King gave Martin the handgun, but kept everything else. He said King used the keys to leave the parking lot in the victim's vehicle, while Martin got back in the vehicle they arrived in and left with Parks, the complaint said.
The complaint noted Parks was shot and killed less than three months after this incident -- on Aug. 1, 2018 near 18th and Brown in Milwaukee. Prosecutors said there's no known connection between Parks' death and any role Parks may have played in this incident.
Niyoktron Martin
According to the complaint, the shooting victim was a cousin to Parks, though Martin and the victim were not cousins.
Online court records showed an arrest warrant was issued for King on Aug. 30, after charges were filed.
Prior conviction for Niyoktron Martin
You may recall, Niyoktron Martin was convicted and sentenced to prison for his role in a shooting and attempted carjacking that happened in downtown Port Washington in May 2018 -- which actually happened two days after the shooting near 38th and Good Hope.
Martin was sentenced in March 2019 to serve 18 years in prison plus another 12 years of extended supervision after pleading no contest to a charge of attempted first degree intentional homicide, as party to a crime. Lavander Blanks, a co-defendant in the case, pleaded no contest to a charged of attempted armed robbery, as party to a crime in December 2018, and was sentenced to serve six years in prison and four years' extended supervision in February 2019.
According to a criminal complaint, an 18-year-old man was parked in his car near Main and Wisconsin Streets around 10:30 p.m. on May 20, 2018. Investigators said he was approached by two men, later identified as Martin and Blanks, and ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint. Officials said the victim tried to quickly reverse his vehicle to flee, but was shot in the shoulder.
The 18-year-old victim in this case was treated and released from the hospital.
Open case for Javontae King
Meanwhile, a charge of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon was filed against King on Aug. 2, after prosecutors said he accidentally shot himself in the groin.
It happened on West Howie Place near Melvina Street (near Fond du Lac and Capitol Drive).
According to a criminal complaint, King was found at the hospital, and said he was hanging out with his 11-year-old brother and 7-year-old nephew, and saw the 11-year-old with a gun. He said he yelled at the boy and took the gun, shoving it down the front of his pants. He said the gun went off, and he was shot.
Police recovered a 9mm casing, and a few houses away in a yard, a 9mm handgun.
An initial appearance was scheduled for Sept. 13.