On the evening of August 28, 2020, Emilio Garza, a 52-year-old Hispanic male, was pushing his street vendor cart near 11th and Grant on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Known to many as the "Señor Elote Man," Garza was a popular figure in his community, having sold corn on the cob there for two decades. Originally from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, his birth name was Filigonio Ramirez Montes.
Beyond his vendor cart, Garza was a musician who played bass guitar in a cumbia band.
As he worked that Friday night, two men approached him from behind. A struggle ensued, captured on surveillance video, during which Garza was shot twice. He tried to flee, but his attackers chased him onto the steps of a nearby home. There, the assault continued, and he was shot multiple times again. The assailants then took $138 from him before running away. When police arrived around 9 p.m., they found Garza deceased at the scene, having sustained nine gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the well-known vendor's death moved swiftly. Investigators linked the crime to another armed robbery that occurred earlier the same day. A Domino's delivery driver had been robbed, and a shot was fired into the air. A shell casing recovered from that earlier scene matched casings found where Garza was killed, providing a crucial link for police.
This evidence led authorities to 31-year-old Antoine Alphonse Jr. He was arrested on September 5 after a long vehicle pursuit, during which he fired a handgun from inside a stolen vehicle as officers closed in. Alphonse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and armed robbery in connection with Garza's death. Subsequently, two 17-year-olds, Diamond P. Harris and Jeremiah Johnson, were also arrested. Harris faced charges including felony murder and armed robbery, while Johnson was charged with operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. In June 2023, a jury found Antoine Alphonse Jr. guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and seven other felonies for the killing of Filigonio Ramirez-Montez.
