In the early afternoon of October 12, 2016, a grim discovery was made in an alley in the 4200 block of North 21st Street in Milwaukee. There, authorities found the body of 44-year-old Vincent L. Williams, a Black male who had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. First responders from both the Milwaukee Police and Fire Departments attempted to save his life, but their efforts were in vain, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators at the scene noted peculiar details; Williams did
not have his car keys or cell phone on him. Tire tracks were visible in the dirt near his body, but his vehicle was nowhere to be found. This led police to suspect he had been the victim of a robbery that tragically escalated to homicide. The absence of his car prompted authorities to report it as stolen two days later, on October 14th. This proved to be a critical step in the investigation.
The vehicle was equipped with OnStar, which tracked it to Milwaukee's south side, near 6th and Lapham. Officers converged on the area and eventually located the car at a gas station. Behind the wheel was 24-year-old Christopher Anderson. As police moved in, they saw a black semi-automatic pistol on Anderson's lap. He was arrested, and the weapon was secured.
Further investigation connected Anderson not only to the death of Vincent Williams but also to the fatal shooting of another man, Jarvis Johnson, which had occurred just days earlier on October 6th. Cell phone data reportedly placed Anderson at the location where Williams was killed. In December 2016, Christopher Anderson was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the deaths of both Vincent L. Williams and Jarvis Johnson. His cash bond was set at $500,000.
