Two men have been charged in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man outside a birthday party on Milwaukee’s southwest side.
Prosecutors on May 13 charged Joseph Mangert, 20, and Daniel Martinez-Labra, 18, in the shooting death of Tyler Huddleston in the early-morning hours of May 2. The shooting took place at a home in the 2500 block of South 62nd Street in the Fairview neighborhood.
The shooting apparently stemmed from an argument over a cell phone, according to a criminal complaint. Witnesses told police that a 14-year-old girl was kicked out of the birthday party, and she called Mangert to pick her up.
According to the complaint, when Mangert arrived, Martinez-Labra was with him. An argument ensued with Huddleston over a phone, which some at the party said Huddleston may have taken and smashed.
Minutes later, Mangert and Martinez-Labra returned and fired several shots, striking and killing Huddleston, the complaint said.
The men charged in the shooting carried at least one gun with an extended magazine and a switch, an illegal accessory that converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic machine gun, according to the complaint. People at the party reported hearing what sounded like automatic gunfire.
Driven by a rise in guns with switches, automatic gunfire now makes up a bigger share of total gunshots in Milwaukee.
Police noted 15 bullets struck the house, and they found 21 9mm cartridge casings in the yard. People at the party reported they took cover when shots were fired.
Huddleston suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was pronounced dead.
Mangert and Martinez-Labra are each charged with first-degree reckless homicide, as a party to a crime, with the use of a dangerous weapon. An arrest warrant was issued for Mangert; Martinez-Labra had his initial appearance in court May 14. If convicted, each faces up to 65 years in prison.
Mangert is listed in court records as a West Allis resident. Martinez-Labra lives in Milwaukee.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 18-year-old killed outside a birthday party in Milwaukee, complaint says
Reporting by Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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