In the fall of 2018, the life of Clarence Perkins, a 35-year-old Black / African American man, was tragically cut short in a burst of violence inside a Milwaukee residence. On the evening of October 23rd, police were called to a home near Auer Avenue and Buffum Street, where they discovered Perkins in a rear doorway, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to Froedtert Hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect, 26-year-old Jody Byrd. According to a witness who was present at the scene, Perkins was sitting on a couch when Byrd entered the residence. An argument erupted, with Byrd shouting that he was going to "knock out" Perkins. The verbal altercation escalated dramatically when Byrd pulled out a. 380 caliber handgun from his back pocket and fired a single shot at Perkins. As the witness fled to protect his daughter, he heard two or three more shots ring out.
Detectives recovered three fired cartridge casings and two bullets from the scene. A significant piece of evidence that placed Byrd at the location of the homicide was his own GPS monitoring bracelet, which he was required to wear due to a prior conviction for second-degree sexual assault of a child in 2010. The GPS data confirmed he was in the immediate vicinity of the shooting at the time it occurred.
Jody Byrd was arrested and charged in connection with Clarence Perkins' death. In October 2019, Byrd pleaded guilty to amended charges of second-degree reckless homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon, as party to a crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was subsequently sentenced for his role in the fatal shooting.
