David Leo Krause, a 35-year-old White/Caucasian man from Milwaukee, was killed on the evening of April 14, 2026, after a night that had begun with him celebrating Milwaukee’s annual 414 Day. Krause had grown up in Lake Geneva before making Milwaukee his home, graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and building a life in the city over the following decade.
Family members remembered him as adventurous and outgoing, someone who enjoyed wakeboarding, snowboarding, rock climbing and playing drums, and who had a habit of trusting and connecting with the people around him.
Severe storms moved through Milwaukee that evening while Krause was in the Walker’s Point area. Earlier, he had been with his girlfriend, but he was dropped off near a BP gas station around South First and West Mineral streets after realizing that his house keys were still in her vehicle. He later telephoned her and said he had found a ride with a group of young people he had met at the gas station. She reportedly offered to return for him, but Krause told her that he already had transportation. Surveillance footage subsequently showed him entering a white Hyundai Sonata with several teenagers inside. Investigators later determined that the Sonata had been stolen earlier that day.
According to prosecutors and the criminal complaints that followed, members of the group discussed robbing Krause, with particular attention focused on his backpack and a belief that he might have a firearm. The Sonata left the gas station at about 7:43 p.m. and traveled only a short distance before stopping near the Harbor Room at 125 E. Greenfield Avenue. Surveillance footage showed Krause getting out of the vehicle and running toward the entrance of the bar. Two of the teenagers pursued him into the alley beside the establishment, where a physical struggle followed. A third person approached but remained several feet away. Moments later, a gunshot was fired and the teenagers ran back toward the Sonata.
Milwaukee police were sent to the area shortly before 8 p.m. after multiple people called 911 to report the shooting. Officers discovered Krause outside the Harbor Room suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:05 p.m. The autopsy determined that he had been killed by a single gunshot fired at contact range. The bullet entered the left side of his chest and exited through his back. His family came to believe that what initially appeared to be a random act of violence had occurred after he trusted strangers enough to accept a ride while trying to get out of the storm.
The people in the Sonata fled after the shooting. About 25 minutes later, police found the vehicle burning near North 60th Street and West Hope Avenue. Investigators determined that the fire had been intentionally set, and prosecutors later alleged that the car was burned in an effort to destroy evidence. Authorities also recovered a second stolen vehicle, a Hyundai Tucson that investigators believed had been traveling with the Sonata. It was found abandoned near West Bender Avenue.
The investigation quickly began producing arrests. A person of interest was taken into custody on April 15, although police emphasized that person was not considered a suspect at that point. On April 20, investigators arrested Stallone D. Dailey, who was 14 at the time of the killing and later turned 15. Detectives said Dailey’s father identified him in surveillance images from the gas station, and a search of Dailey’s residence allegedly produced a distinctive sweatshirt and watch resembling items visible in the surveillance footage. Additional teenagers were taken into custody as investigators reconstructed what occurred inside the stolen Sonata and in the alley.
Three juveniles were ultimately charged in connection with Krause’s death. Prosecutors alleged that the group had targeted Krause for robbery and that the fatal shooting occurred during that attempted robbery, allowing felony-murder charges to be brought even while investigators continued working to determine precisely who fired the gun. Early court records accused the teenagers of felony murder, armed or attempted armed robbery and offenses connected to the stolen vehicle. One teenager also faced an arson allegation for the burning of the Sonata. A teenage girl was initially arrested or linked to the investigation, but reporting at the time indicated that she had not been charged in Krause’s killing.
One of the defendants was mistakenly released from the Milwaukee County Center for Youth at the Vel R. Phillips Youth and Family Justice Center on April 26. The mistake prompted a search, and authorities located and returned the teenager to custody the following morning without incident. County officials opened a review into how the release occurred. The episode added to the frustration of Krause’s relatives, who repeatedly attended court proceedings and urged authorities to keep the defendants detained.
As the cases progressed, prosecutors sought to move the accused teenagers from the juvenile system into adult court. One defendant, publicly identified only as J.M. because his case remained juvenile, was not waived into adult court. Prosecutors said he had a significant prior juvenile history involving weapons and numerous stolen vehicles. On August 21, J.M. was sentenced in juvenile court to a treatment program at the Lincoln Hills School that was expected to last less than a year, followed by five years of state supervision. During the proceeding, J.M. acknowledged that he had done wrong and had been involved in the killing and apologized to Krause’s family and the community. Krause’s relatives strongly objected to the juvenile disposition, arguing that the seriousness of the crime warranted adult consequences.
The other two defendants, Breontae M. Tyler and Stallone D. Dailey, were transferred to adult court. Tyler, who was 16 when publicly charged as an adult, was charged with felony murder, operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent and arson of property other than a building. A criminal complaint filed in July alleged that Tyler had participated in the robbery attempt, chased Krause and was involved in the fatal confrontation. Some prosecution accounts specifically alleged that Tyler fired the shot, while later reporting noted that the evidence had not conclusively established whether Tyler or Dailey actually pulled the trigger. Tyler pleaded not guilty on August 10 and was being held on $100,000 cash bond, with another court appearance scheduled for September 9.
Dailey was subsequently charged as an adult with felony murder, operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent and arson of property other than a building as a party to a crime. Prosecutors alleged that he chased and struggled with Krause alongside Tyler and that, after the shooting, he supplied Tyler with a lighter that was later used in burning the stolen Sonata. Under the adult charges reported in August, Dailey faced a potential sentence approaching four decades if convicted on all counts. As of the latest publicly available reporting in late August 2026, he had not yet entered a plea and was scheduled to return to court on September 1. He and Tyler were each being held on $100,000 cash bond.
No trial or adult-court conviction had been reported as of August 30, 2026. The prosecution of Tyler and Dailey therefore remained pending, and the question of which participant fired the fatal shot had not been conclusively resolved in the publicly reported court record. What investigators did allege was that Krause encountered the group while simply trying to find transportation during a storm, was driven only a few blocks, realized he was in danger and tried to escape toward the Harbor Room before being chased down during an attempted robbery. His death transformed what had been an evening celebrating Milwaukee into a homicide investigation involving stolen vehicles, an alleged robbery, an evidence-destroying fire and three teenagers facing consequences in two different court systems.
