FBI fugitive who killed 2 in Milwaukee sentenced to 60 years

Michelle Liu

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Janice Reed carried an armful of mementos into a Milwaukee courtroom Wednesday to commemorate her son, 39-year-old Michael Reed, holding them out in front of a judge: photos, a T-shirt, a candle, his obituary.

She also unfolded a newspaper clipping about the day his killer, Terry A.D. Strickland, was caught in Texas, a year after fleeing the crime scene.

For Reed, justice was served Wednesday, when a judge sentenced Strickland to 60 years in prison for fatally shooting her son and Maurice Brown Jr., 38.

"You came to Milwaukee to avoid the horrific gun violence going on in Chicago," Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey A. Conen told Strickland. "And I find it ironic that you're going to prison for a significant amount of time for gun violence."

It was the culmination of a yearlong saga that began when Strickland, 25, was among a crowd of men arguing in front of a home last July. Witnesses told police they saw him go inside, return with a gun and begin firing.

Reed was shot in the head, while Brown was hit multiple times, including a gunshot in his back. Both men died at the scene.

Strickland climbed into a black SUV and fled, leaving his 18-month-old daughter in the house.

In December, the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted list. One month later, Strickland was captured in El Paso, Texas, and extradited to Milwaukee after an informant tipped off authorities, reporting that Strickland had set himself up as a cocaine dealer there.

A jury found Strickland guilty of two counts of first-degree reckless homicide last month.

The sentence exceeded the 50 years of confinement the prosecution had recommended.

Assistant District Attorney Karl Hayes contested Strickland's claim that he had confronted the group of men to protect his daughter when, following the shooting, Strickland abandoned his home, his car and his daughter, who is now in state care.

Strickland's attorney, James Toran, asked for a sentence of 15 to 20 years for each count, to run concurrently.

"He did not wake up and say, 'I want to harm someone,' " Toran said.

Strickland expressed remorse, acknowledging that he had lost his daughter.

"Sometimes, I wonder what I could've done differently that day," he said.

The prosecution said unanswered questions remain — a bullet not belonging to the gun Strickland used was found in Brown's body, along with a shell casing at the scene, suggesting that there was a second gun and second shooter.

Conen also sentenced Strickland to 16 years of extended supervision. Strickland must also pay over $11,000 in restitution, including the $1,922 it cost to extradite him from Texas to Milwaukee.

"I feel great because of the fact that it wasn't too short," Janice Reed said of the sentence, surrounded by the Reed and Brown families after the sentencing. "And, you know, what else can you ask for?"