On the warm summer evening of August 7, 2013, Sheresa Shay Moore, a 26-year-old Black / African American female, was at a Citgo gas station at the corner of Sherman and Capitol in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A local rap artist, she was on her way home from a studio session, a routine stop on a familiar route. As she was preparing to pump gas into her car around 10:40 p.m., a man approached her. Surveillance footage from the gas station captured the harrowing moments that followed.
The man confronted Moore, and despite her not showing any resistance and backing away from him, he shot her once in the abdomen.
As Moore lay wounded on the ground, the assailant got into her vehicle and sped away. Sheresa was still conscious when police arrived and was able to tell them that someone had taken her car. She was rushed to a local hospital but tragically succumbed to the single gunshot wound. The incident was part of a distressing wave of random violence that had gripped the city of Milwaukee that week, leaving the community shaken and fearful.
The investigation into Sheresa Moore's murder quickly led authorities to a primary suspect: Byron Lathan. An arrest warrant was issued for him, and he was charged with multiple criminal counts, including first-degree reckless homicide. In the hours following the shooting, Moore's car was discovered a few blocks away from the gas station, completely engulfed in flames. Investigators determined the fire to be an act of arson, a clear attempt to destroy evidence. Despite being identified as the main suspect, Lathan managed to evade capture for several years, leaving Moore's family and the community waiting for justice.
Years later, the case saw a significant development, though not the one many had anticipated. Byron Lathan was eventually apprehended. However, in a turn of events, the first-degree reckless homicide charges against him were dropped. The specific reasons for the dismissal of these serious charges have not been detailed in available online sources. While he was not to be tried for the murder of Sheresa Moore, Lathan did face legal consequences for his actions on that fateful night. He pleaded no contest to the charge of arson for setting Moore's car on fire. For this crime, he was sentenced to serve 11 months in the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center. The resolution of the legal case left the community with unanswered questions and a sense of incomplete justice for the violent and untimely death of Sheresa Shay Moore.
