Nayah Vasquez and Exziel Rivera never got to see their 20s.
They were 18 and 15, respectively, when they were shot to death Christmas Day as they waited in a car for a bag of marijuana they had arranged to buy.
Prosecutors say Quintarez Morris, also in his teens, was one of two men who pulled up on Nayah and Exziel in another car and surprised the pair.
Only the story ended much differently for Morris.
He lived. They didn’t.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey A. Wagner on July 8 sentenced Morris to five years behind bars. He also must serve five years of extended supervision when his prison term is over.
Morris, 18, initially was charged in January with two counts of first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime in Nayah and Exziel’s shooting deaths. He pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a felon moments before jury selection got underway in his June 23 homicide trial.
Another man, Jeremiah N. Taylor, who prosecutors believe pulled the trigger, also was charged with homicide, but remains at-large nearly eight months after the shooting.
In Wisconsin, first-degree intentional homicide is a Class B felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
On the other hand, the penalty for harboring or aiding a felon can vary, depending on the severity of the underlying felony committed by the person being aided. A class G felony carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine.
Mother still wrestles with the ‘trauma’ of losing her son
Speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Rivera’s mother, Melynda Rivera, expressed frustration over the deal that was offered to Morris.
Morris will be 23 when he’s freed. Exziel will never be back.
“Do I feel like this charge is accurate and fair? No,” she said. “The trauma of seeing my son in a bag on Christmas forever ruined everything, and Christmas will never be the same because of him and Jeremiah Taylor.”
What happened to Nayah Vasquez and Exziel Rivera on Christmas Day?
According to a criminal complaint, surveillance cameras in the neighborhood recorded footage of a white Kia parking on South 37th Street just before the intersection with West Scott Street on Dec. 25, 2024.
At some point, a black Malibu that was traveling on Scott crossed the intersection and a light-skinned male leaned out of the front passenger window. That person fired a gun multiple times at the Kia before speeding off.
Neighbors came out to help the dying victims around 11:25 a.m. after hearing gunshots.
Exziel died at the scene. Nayah was taken to a hospital, where she died.
Were Exziel and Navah ambushed during a drug deal?
Investigators said one of men in the Kia with Nayah and Exziel had earlier arranged to buy marijuana from another man before the shooting occurred.
The Malibu was later found burned in Dineen Park, on West Vienna Avenue.
There have been 71 homicides reported in Milwaukee in 2025 as of July 2, the most updated figure provided by the Milwaukee Police Department. At the same point a year ago, there were 67 homicides, paving the way to 132 homicides for all of 2024, the year Nayah and Exziel were killed.
Milwaukee County had 172 homicides in 2023 and 215 in 2022, according to data from both Milwaukee police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
Melynda Rivera told the Journal Sentinel she may one day find the strength to forgive Morris for the role he played in her son’s death.
Today wasn’t that day.
“A bag of pot shouldn’t have been the reason my son lost his life or Nayah,” she said.
Morris has 174 days of pre-trial custody credit that can be applied to his sentence.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘A bag of weed for a life’: Milwaukee man sentenced in 2 teens’ deaths, gunman remains on the loose
Reporting by Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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