Mentally ill man gets prison in uncle's death

A Milwaukee man who fatally shot his uncle during an argument over closing the door to the basement apartment the two mentally ill men shared was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison, where his mother hopes he might finally get treatment.

Perry Wallace, 28, was charged in May with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Robert Eugene Thomas, 45, near N. 24th Place and W. Burleigh St. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless homicide, with a dangerous weapon, after doctors concluded he did not meet the standards of his earlier plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Lisa Wallace, the defendant's mother and victim's sister, told Circuit Judge Joseph Donald her son is not a killer, that he just could never function as an adult. "All I ask is that he go somewhere where he can get his mind together," she said. "I'd like my son to be in the right place," for some treatment.

"You can see by him sitting here he needs help," said his brother, Danny Sanders.

Wallace sat still with his head hung down for most of the hearing. He told Donald, "I'm sorry for what I did," when asked if he wanted to address the court.

Donald said anyone with decency and common sense could realize that the two men living together in a basement, with a weapon and some drug use "was a volatile situation." But he said he couldn't demonize the family, who Wallace's attorney said did the best they could, given their impoverishment.

"Even one mentally ill family member can be overwhelming," said attorney Victoria McCandless, even when a family has resources.

She said Wallace and his uncle got along well at times but were "oil and water" at others. Her client's learning disability and limited communication skills made it hard to improve things, she said.

When police found Thomas, he was wearing a pack loaded with metal plates across his chest. Next to his body was a stew pot, which family members said Thomas often wore as a helmet. Thomas had a knife, several rounds of ammunition of various calibers and a pipe with a bullet stuck in one end.

Relatives told investigators that both Thomas and Wallace suffered from schizophrenia.

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Wallace shot his uncle with a damaged, antique shotgun McCandless thinks the two had found while "scrapping."  She said Wallace had no real experience with guns and didn't expect the shot to even hit his uncle, much less kill him.

She said her client's concern about the open door was because of a rat problem, and that he didn't understand that rats could get in the basement even if the door was closed.

Wallace initially told police he was upstairs with his four minor sisters when he heard two gunshots, then ran outside to find his uncle on the ground. He and the children ran to his girlfriend's house in the 2500 block of W. Chambers St., Wallace said.

Eventually, Wallace admitted fighting with his uncle because he wouldn't close their apartment door and ultimately shooting him in the face with the shotgun because he felt disrespected.

McCandless said Wallace's prior record was for misdemeanor trespassing and pot possession charges, that he had no history of violence toward others and that four to seven years would be sufficient punishment.

Donald made evaluation and treatment a condition of the 10 years of extended supervision Wallace will face after prison and told him he needs to figure out ways to advocate for himself and follow a treatment regimen for his mental health issues.

It's unclear how soon, and how much, treatment Wallace will get in prison.