In the cold of a Milwaukee evening on January 15, 2014, 20-year-old Jordan Wilder’s life was cut short by a single gunshot. The incident unfolded just before 10:00 p.m. near 11th and Lincoln, a moment that would forever alter the lives of those involved. Wilder, a male, was a father of two.
On that fateful night, Wilder was at home with his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his children, when he received a phone call from a man he knew as "Davon."
He had been in communication with him earlier, with Wilder expressing a desire to hang out and get some liquor. After the call, Wilder stepped outside. Shortly after, a gunshot rang out. Wilder ran back into the residence, stating that "Davon" had shot him.
Though still alive when police arrived, having sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, Wilder would later succumb to his injuries at the hospital. Before he died, he was able to identify his shooter to an officer. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office subsequently ruled his death a homicide.
The investigation quickly led police to a residence on N. 20th Street the following day. There, they located and arrested 18-year-old Davon Thompson, who was found hiding in a closet. Two other individuals, 20-year-old Demetrius Robinson and 20-year-old Brandi Ollins, were also present and taken into custody. Thompson was charged with first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime and possession of a firearm by a felon. Remarkably, just days before the shooting, a judge had stayed a two-year prison sentence for Thompson, placing him on probation instead. Robinson and Ollins were each charged with robbery with the threat of force as parties to a crime. An investigation revealed that the firearm used in the shooting was a. 40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, which was later recovered by police after Robinson disclosed its location.
