On a summer evening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the life of Andrew L. Phillips, a 39-year-old Black/African American man, was tragically cut short. On June 8, 2017, inside a residence near 55th and Casper, a dispute escalated into fatal violence. Phillips, a pastor and devoted father of ten, found himself in the midst of a heated argument involving a woman he had been dating and another individual.
The situation took a deadly turn when the woman's boyfriend, 35-year-old James Dewberry,
arrived at the house. According to witness accounts, an argument involving Phillips had already been in progress. Shortly after Dewberry entered the home, a gunshot was heard from downstairs. A witness who came down from the second floor discovered a horrifying scene: Dewberry was pointing a handgun at an unarmed Phillips and proceeded to shoot him two more times.
First responders found Phillips face-down on the floor and pronounced him dead at the scene. An autopsy later confirmed that he had sustained three gunshot wounds. His death was officially ruled a homicide. The investigation that followed quickly pointed to Dewberry as the primary suspect, with a witness identifying him in a phone lineup. Another witness corroborated the account, stating they saw Dewberry shoot Phillips with a black semi-automatic handgun that had an extended magazine.
James Dewberry was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree reckless homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon. In August 2018, Dewberry reached a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
