Woman charged in fatal shooting outside bar (MILWAUKEE)
Charges in a fatal shooting outside a Milwaukee bar. 49-year-old April Miller is charged with first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree reckless injury in the death of 33-year-old Brenisha Butcher early last Sunday morning. She’s accused of firing into Butcher’s vehicle outside Bar 107 on Milwaukee’s northwest side, killing Butcher and injuring her sister. In court Thursday, Miller’s bond was set at $300,000. The owner of the bar says it will not reopen.
Civil case against former Wauwatosa police officer ends in mistrial (MILWAUKEE)
A civil case against a former Wauwatosa police officer ends in a hung jury. Joseph Mensah shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole in 2020. Cole’s parents filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging Mensah used excessive force. In federal court on Thursday, Mensah’s attorney said Mensah had to shoot when Cole raised his gun. Jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after deliberating more than five hours. A retrial is set for September. The fatal shooting of Cole was the third in five years involving Mensah, who resigned from the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2020 and was later employed with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.
Former East Troy music teacher headed to prison for sexually assaulting students (ELKHORN)
A former East Troy music teacher convicted of sexually assaulting students is going to prison. A Walworth County judge on Thursday sentenced 47-year-old John Rash to 12 years in prison. Rash was a band teacher at East Troy Middle School for over 20 years. At least 15 former students accused him of inappropriately touching them. The first victims came forward in 2018, but the school allowed Rash to keep teaching and never informed police. Rash surrendered his teaching license and resigned in 2022. He pled guilty last year to two of nine charges of repeated sexual assault as part of a plea deal.
Former hotel desk clerk charged in D’Vontaye Mitchell death reaches plea deal (MILWAUKEE)
A third man pleads guilty in connection death of a man in front of a downtown Milwaukee hotel last summer. Devin Johnson-Carson accepted a plea deal Thursday reducing his felony murder charge to misdemeanor battery. Johnson-Carson was a desk clerk at the Hyatt Regency hotel where D’Vontaye Mitchell was involved in a disturbance. Mitchell was punched, kicked and dragged out of the building into the hotel driveway. A criminal complaint says Johnson-Carson was one of four men who pinned Mitchell down. He died at the scene from what the medical examiner determined was restraint asphyxia. Johnson-Carson and two others involved will be sentenced in September.
Brewers offer food truck park for 2025 season (MILWAUKEE)
Food trucks will be on hand during Milwaukee Brewers games this season. “The Alley” Food Truck Park will be located on the left-field Loge level of American Family Field, with local vendors offering Mexican and Italian cuisines, as well as grilled sandwiches and gelato. A new bar will also be located near the food trucks. The Brewers open their home schedule March 31st facing the Kansas City Royals.
Skeletal remains found in Waushara County ID’d (WAUTOMA)
Skeletal remains found last week in central Wisconsin are identified. The Waushara County Medical Examiner’s Office and state investigators identified the remains found March 13th in the rural Town of Leon. A release from the sheriff’s office says the name of the person identified will be released at a later date.