On a Thursday afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 6, 2016, Jarvis J. Johnson, a 28-year-old Black male, was fatally shot while sitting as a passenger in a vehicle. The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. in the vicinity of 32nd and Meinecke on the city's north side. Johnson was struck by multiple gunshots and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The shooting was not a random act of violence but was connected to a larger web of gang activity and witness intimidation that plagued the city.
The investigation into Johnson's death led authorities to Christopher Anderson, a 24-year-old suspected member of the Brothers of Struggle gang. According to court documents, the motive behind the killing was to silence a witness. Anderson allegedly targeted Jarvis J. Johnson because his brother, Jerome, was cooperating with police and was expected to testify against another gang member involved in a freeway shooting that had occurred in December 2015. This act of retaliation was part of a broader pattern of violence the gang used to protect its drug operations and intimidate potential witnesses.
Evidence against Christopher Anderson included witness testimony and surveillance video that showed a dark SUV following the car Johnson was in. One witness described seeing an arm extend from the rear driver's side window of the SUV, holding a semi-automatic handgun and firing multiple shots. Ballistic evidence connected the casings found at the scene of Johnson's murder to a firearm used in a kidnapping in which Anderson had been positively identified. Furthermore, GPS data from Anderson's cell phone placed him at the location of the homicide when it happened. Anderson was subsequently charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Jarvis J. Johnson, as well as for another killing that occurred within the same week. He was also implicated in a series of other violent crimes, including attempted homicides and armed robbery, painting a picture of a brutal effort to maintain the gang's control through fear and violence.
