A Cudahy man was found guilty of homicide and other charges in connection with a head-on crash that killed two people as he fled from police.
A Milwaukee County jury deliberated roughly two hours before returning guilty verdicts for Darius Boldery on Aug. 5.
The panel convicted him of 11 felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and fleeing an officer in the death of another person.
The charges stemmed from a high-speed chase on April 30, 2025, that ended with a nearly head-on collision that killed Boldery’s two passengers and injured three people in another vehicle.
Boldery, who turns 20 next week, will be sentenced Oct. 22 by Circuit Judge Michelle A. Havas.
According to a criminal complaint:
Milwaukee police were dispatched to Newberry Boulevard and Hackett Avenue on a report about a suspicious vehicle.
The caller said they saw the occupants of a silver hatchback reaching out of the vehicle’s windows and pulling on the door handles of parked vehicles as they drove by.
Officers later found a vehicle matching the description the caller gave them traveling north on Maryland Avenue, near the intersection with Linnwood Avenue on Milwaukee’s east side.
An officer turned on his lights to pull over the vehicle near Capitol Drive and Green Bay Avenue when his backup got within sight.
The vehicle, driven by Boldery, pulled over momentarily but then peeled off. A chase ensued, with Boldery leading police north in the southbound lanes of Green Bay Avenue.
The pursuit came to a deadly conclusion when Boldery’s vehicle slammed into a Ford Edge that was traveling south. Boldery’s vehicle was traveling about 93 mph.
Boldery’s passengers, Xavier G. Valdovino-Torres, 18, and Keon Carter, 17, both of Milwaukee, died from injuries sustained in the crash. The occupants of the struck vehicle – two 25-year-olds and a 24-year-old – were also injured in the incident.
Police found an American Tactical .22 caliber rifle and an Anderson Manufacturing .223 caliber AR-15 style rifle in Boldery’s car.
Boldery took the witness stand on Aug. 4, the second day of his trial.
He told jurors Valdovino-Torres and Carter coerced him to run from the police and threatened to shoot him if he refused.
Milwaukee police chase policy has been scrutinized over the past year
Police chases in Milwaukee have been under scrutiny in the last year after nine people died in crashes related to chases in 2025. Those chased and bystanders were among those killed.
Milwaukee police chased people 970 times in 2025 and about one-third of those ended in a crash, with just under a quarter involving an injury.
Data shows police chases have gotten faster in recent years 70% of chases last year clocking speeds over 75 mph; 23% reached speeds over 100 mph. By comparison, about half of chases in 2020 reached those speeds.
Thirty seven people have died in Milwaukee County in motor vehicle crashes in 2026 as of Aug. 2, the most recent data provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Seventy-four traffic deaths occurred on Milwaukee County roads and highways in all of 2025.
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cudahy man convicted in fatal wrong-way crash stemming from police chase
Reporting by Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
