2 men charged in robbery-related double homicide
Two Milwaukee men have been charged in connection with a "robbery gone wrong" that left two men dead this month, according to a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors say Ramion McKenzie and Tyrone Richmond attempted to rob Kendell Baker and Quinshawne Williams, who were in a car together, and Richmond and Williams were critically wounded during an exchange of gunfire. Richmond and Williams were taken to a hospital for treatment and died from their injuries.
McKenzie's fingerprint was found on the car that Baker had been driving, and he also was overheard describing the situation as "a robbery gone wrong" while at the hospital, according to the criminal complaint.
McKenzie, 24, is charged with two counts of felony murder, as a party to the crime, and Baker, 22, is charged with being a felon in possession of a gun.
McKenzie and Baker apparently knew each other. Milwaukee police stopped a vehicle with both men inside while investigating a robbery complaint in January and found a gun in the car, according to court records.
At least one source suggested to police that Baker set up Williams to be robbed, the complaint says.
According to the criminal complaint:
Milwaukee police were called to a shooting shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 13 near W. State and N. 23rd streets. Officers found numerous .38-caliber and .40-caliber shell casings. A nearby business with surveillance cameras had captured footage showing a white four-door car parking on N. 23rd St. and then a darker-colored vehicle pulling up and parking in front of the white vehicle. The video showed a man leaving the white car and approaching the other vehicle.
As officers were on the scene, police were called to a nearby hospital for two shooting victims who had been dropped off. Richmond, 21, was taken to the hospital by someone driving a white car, while Williams, 23, was taken there by someone driving a red car. Officers were able to determine the license plate of the red car using hospital surveillance footage and traced it to a house where they found Baker.
Baker said he drove Williams to a bar near the location of the shooting. He told police soon after he parked, they were robbed at gunpoint.
Investigators determined McKenzie and Richmond were in the white car, and one witness said McKenzie had wrapped a white T-shirt around his face as he and Richmond, both armed with guns, approached the red car. Richmond had purchased marijuana from someone inside the red car earlier that night, the witness said.
Richmond and Williams were among seven people killed in Milwaukee during the second weekend in August, one of the deadliest periods in the city this year.
Baker is expected in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday. McKenzie is due in court Sept. 8. Both remained jailed Monday on $20,000 and $100,000 bail, respectively.