Purcell Pearson shooting; Milwaukee man found guilty at trial
Ismael Moreno
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County jury found Ismael Moreno guilty Wednesday, April 26 in the fatal shooting of Purcell Pearson. He previously appeared on Wisconsin's Most Wanted.
Moreno, 19, was charged with first-degree reckless homicide for the February 2021 killing. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23.
Moreno was one of two men charged in Pearson's death. The second, Tyrell Joseph, was sentenced in 2022 to nine years in prison.
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Case details
According to the criminal complaint obtained, a Milwaukee police officer was driving on Wisconsin Avenue shortly on Feb. 6, 2021 when he "saw a dark-colored minivan speed off from the parking lane on the south side of W. Wisconsin Ave." The officer saw the van then crossed the eastbound lanes with someone hanging onto the outside of the driver's door.
Purcell Pearson
When the officer got closer to the intersection of 23rd and Wisconsin, the complaint states he "heard the sound of a vehicle braking and then a loud 'pop.'" The officer then saw the van continue driving down Wisconsin Avenue; that's when the officer saw a person, identified later as Pearson, "stand up from the street, run about 20 yards, and then collapse in the middle of the street."
Another person ran toward the officer at the scene and stated: "That's my brother." The complaint indicates this person also said Pearson "was selling the glasses and they robbed him and shot him." Officers later interviewed the person who indicated he was Pearson's brother. That person said he and Pearson "have been selling designer glasses for three to four months. They buy the glasses on DHGate and then sell them in Milwaukee."
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The brother told officers, per the complaint, that someone identified as "Pablo Fernandez" messaged him the day of the shooting with the message, "You still got these" – referring to Cartier glasses. Shortly after noon, the brother indicated Pearson "came back into the apartment and said that the guy wants the glasses, but they were not tight enough. He saw his brother fix the glasses, and then his brother said that he was selling two pairs for $500." Pearson then left the apartment.
The police investigation later determined the profile name "Pablo Fernandez" was tied to a phone number with a 262 area code. Police linked that phone to a woman, and the complaint indicates back in 2019, the woman identified her son as Tyrell Joseph. The woman was interviewed in 2019 because Joseph had been shot in the leg, the complaint states.
Purcell Pearson
Milwaukee police recovered surveillance video that shows the van in question prior to the shooting. They also received video recordings from a pole camera near 27th and Wells, as well as a restaurant near 22nd and Wisconsin.
The complaint indicates two days after the shooting, police found a van that matched the description of the one involved in the shooting incident. Investigators determined Joseph's family lived nearby. When officers spoke with a relative of Joseph, that person identified Joseph from a surveillance photo captured near 27th and Lisbon. That person also identified Moreno – as well as the van he said Joseph drives.