In Milwaukee, on a Saturday in early spring, the life of 19-year-old Lawrence Jones, an African American male, was cut short by gunfire. The events of April 4, 2020, unfolded at a Citgo gas station located near the intersection of Green Bay Avenue and Cornell Street. Jones was in the front passenger seat of a vehicle parked at a gas pump when another man approached.
Surveillance footage from the gas station captured a conversation between the man and the occupants of the car.
Following this exchange, the man entered the back seat of the vehicle. A witness later informed police that the man, identified as 21-year-old Daveion Wilson, had approached the car intending to purchase marijuana. Once inside, he allegedly brandished a firearm and announced a robbery, stating, "I'll take all of that, just give me what you got, don't do anything stupid." The witness gave his marijuana to Wilson.
What happened next escalated quickly. The witness reported seeing Lawrence Jones draw a firearm from his own waistband. It remains unclear who fired the first shot, but a volley of five or six gunshots erupted inside the car. Jones was struck by two bullets and succumbed to his injuries. When police arrived, they discovered him in the passenger seat and found a firearm between the front seats, along with several fired casings.
After the shooting, Wilson was seen on video leaving the car with a limp, suggesting he had been injured, and driving away in a red Jeep. A short time later, firefighters in the vicinity of 28th Street and Ruby Avenue responded to a vehicle crash; a red Jeep had collided with their fire truck. Inside, they found an unconscious Wilson, who was the sole occupant. He had sustained a gunshot wound to his chest. A. 40 caliber handgun was recovered from his vehicle. This firearm was found to be "stovepiped," meaning a cartridge had jammed during firing. Wilson was subsequently arrested in connection with the fatal shooting. He was later sentenced to 13 years in prison, followed by ten years of extended supervision, after pleading guilty to a charge of second-degree reckless homicide. Two other charges, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, were dismissed but read into the court record for sentencing purposes.
