Milwaukee woman to be tried after son shot dead with her gun (MILWAUKEE)
A Milwaukee woman, 32-year-old Tiara Edwards was bound over for trial Wednesday in the death of her young son. Police say 4-year-old Jamero Edwards was shot in the head and killed in February. A criminal complaint alleges he took an unsecured, loaded handgun from Edwards’ purse while she was sleeping. According to the complaint, Jamero then gave a six-year-old girl the gun and told her to shoot him. He died from his injuries at a hospital. Milwaukee Police found two guns inside the apartment where the shooting took place. Edwards is charged with neglecting a child, resulting in death. She could serve 25 years in prison if convicted.
Northridge Mall demolition begins (MILWAUKEE)
Demolition of Milwaukee’s dilapidated Northridge Mall has begun. Heavy machinery began tearing down the onetime Boston Store at the mall, which is the starting point for the project. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the former mall has been a source of blight and danger on the northwest side of the city for years. The city took control of the property in January following a long legal battle. There have also been several fires, vandalism and trespassing incidents. The demolition of the abandoned mall, which has been closed since 2003, is slated to be completed by the fall of 2025.
School district has huge deficit caused by accounting errors (GLENDALE)
Accounting errors lead to a huge deficit in a Milwaukee-area school district. The Glendale-River Hills School District says “significant” accounting errors made by now-former staff have put the district into an estimated deficit as high as $3.6 million. The president of the district’s school board, Danielle Bailey, says the board was told in June that the district had a budget surplus. By October, the board learned that the excess funds were gone. The circumstances have led the board to unanimously endorse a plan to deal with the deficit. At their Wednesday meeting, the board announced that the plan will save the district about a million dollars through staff retirements, resignations and attrition.
Guidelines set for protesters at Republican National Convention (MILWAUKEE)
Measures are in place to handle protests during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer. Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed a new ordinance Wednesday which sets guidelines for protesters. That includes registration for those wanting to march inside an RNC security footprint set around the vicinity of the Fiserv Forum, where the convention will be held this July. A route for marchers and a platform for speakers near the convention site will be determined by the city later on. Protest organizers say they’re consulting with the ACLU about ways to strike down the restrictions.
One dead following apartment fire (RACINE)
A person has died following a fire at a Racine apartment building Wednesday evening. Fire crews found heavy smoke coming from the window of a second-floor apartment at the complex. When they made their way into the apartment where the smoke was coming from, the Racine Fire Department says they found a tenant dead on the floor of the bedroom the fire originated in. The blaze was controlled within 20 minutes, and property damage was estimated at $75,000. No foul play is suspected as the cause of the blaze is being investigated.
Man sentenced after overseeing farm with close to 200 dead goats (DARLINGTON)
A Darlington man has been sentenced after nearly 200 dead goats are found on a southwest Wisconsin farm he oversaw. Kyle Lincicum will serve 15 months in prison and another nine months in jail after he pleaded guilty in December to several animal abuse charges, including intentionally failing to provide food for an animal, and intentionally not disposing of carcasses. The charges came after the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office got a call from the Farm Service Agency in March of last year about the dead goats on a farm in Seymour Township. Lincicum was also ordered to pay the victim of his actions more than $240,000 in restitution. Lincicum’s wife, Stephanie Lincicum was sentenced in January to 18 months in jail and five years’ probation on similar charges to her husband.