Isaiah Allen was a 29-year-old Black man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a father of two. His family said he struggled with mental health issues, and on the day he was killed, he was preparing to move to Louisville to get support. His father had just brought him clothes for the trip the night before. His mother, who lived near the gas station where he died, described him as her firstborn son and said he had a lot of family that loved him.
On the morning of August 16, 2023, Allen walked
into a Clark gas station at the corner of Teutonia Avenue and Roosevelt Drive. According to a criminal complaint, he took a box of Little Debbie snack cakes and left without paying. A security guard, William Pinkin, got up from the back of the store, pulled out a handgun, and rushed after Allen. Just outside the building, from a little more than an arm's length away, Pinkin shot Allen in the back of the head. Allen was pronounced dead at the scene. Surveillance video showed Pinkin then picked up the box of snacks, went back inside the store, and was later seen calmly milling around and smoking a cigarette.
When police first arrived, Pinkin told them he had not seen the shooting. He left the scene but surrendered to authorities two days later, on August 18. Investigators charged Pinkin, then 56, with first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Prosecutors noted that Pinkin had a 1990 conviction for first-degree reckless homicide. He had been released from prison only five months before killing Allen and was legally prohibited from owning a gun.
The shooting sparked immediate outrage in the community. Allen’s family and local activists began protesting outside the gas station, demanding justice and the closure of the business, which police had previously designated a nuisance property. His mother questioned how a life could be taken over what she called "25-cent cakes." The family's campaign led to tangible changes. In October 2023, the Milwaukee Common Council unanimously voted to revoke the gas station's business license. In March 2024, the city passed a new ordinance in Isaiah Allen’s honor, requiring private security guards to be licensed, bonded, insured, and to pass a background check.
At his trial, Pinkin testified that he did not remember pulling the trigger. A jury deliberated for 20 minutes before finding him guilty of both first-degree intentional homicide and the firearm charge. In August 2024, a judge sentenced William Pinkin to life in prison without the possibility of extended supervision. He received an additional consecutive sentence for the gun possession charge.
