In the cold just before Christmas, a botched drug deal in a Beloit, Wisconsin parking lot claimed the life of 16-year-old Savion N. Latimer, an African American male. The events of December 23, 2016, would unravel a story of a robbery gone wrong, leading to a young man's death and the incarceration of his associate.
The plan, according to court records, was for Savion and his friends to rob a man of marijuana. Joldany Rodriguez, then 19, along with Savion and two other 16-year-olds, drove to a parking lot on Hackett Street to carry out the robbery. Rodriguez would later admit to his role in setting up the transaction.
During the attempted robbery, the situation escalated dramatically. Both Savion Latimer and the man they intended to rob drew firearms. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Savion was fatally wounded. An 18-year-old was also injured during the incident.
The investigation that followed led to the arrest of Joldany Rodriguez. In July 2017, he pleaded guilty to being party to the crime that resulted in Savion's death. By October of that year, a Rock County judge sentenced the now 20-year-old Rodriguez to five years in prison, to be followed by a decade of extended supervision for his role in the tragic events that unfolded on that winter night.
