A 26-year-old Glendale man has been charged in connection to a minor crash turned homicide after a concert in downtown Milwaukee last month.
Demetris Riley was charged on March 5 with first-degree intentional homicide, a Class A felony, which carries a sentence of imprisonment for life.
According to a criminal complaint, Riley shot and killed 47-year-old Sharita L. Barber on Feb. 28 following a concert for Florida rapper BossMan Dlow at the newly opened Landmark Credit Union Live. The shooting took place on Vel R. Phillips Avenue near East State Street.
Police recovered multiple videos from the incident, including a police pole camera at the intersection, a dash camera from a Lyft driver and a witness’ cellphone footage.
Both Barber and Riley attended the concert. Video shows Riley arriving at her vehicle illegally parked in front of Riley’s vehicle in a turn lane on Phillips Avenue, the complaint said. A short time after, Riley arrives with his girlfriend to his vehicle.
Barber then attempts to pull out of the spot but lightly taps Riley’s vehicle, the complaint said. Both Riley and his girlfriend exit the vehicle and confront Barber, who then exits her car, according to the complaint.
All three appear to assessing damage and talking before Riley punches a rear quarter window on Barber’s vehicle, the complaint said. Barber then grabs her firearm from her vehicle and Riley’s girlfriend also retrieves an item from the vehicle, according to the complaint.
Barber appears on video pointing the gun at Riley, according to the complaint, which notes that Barber is heard on witness video saying, “you can’t pay for that, I want your life” in reference to the broken window.
After Barber stops pointing the gun at Riley, his girlfriend is seen on video raising her arm above the vehicle and firing two times at Barber, causing her to fall to the ground, the complaint said.
The complaint states that after this moment, all the available footage shows Barber remains motionless on the ground for the rest of incident. She does not make any moves toward the firearm or any movement or actions toward Riley or others, the complaint said.
Video also shows Riley then grabbed the gun from his girlfriend, walked past Barber, and fired at least four times at her as she lay on the ground, according to the complaint.
Riley then returned to his vehicle, reverses into the vehicle behind him, drives forward and runs over Barber in the street while fleeing the scene, according to the complaint.
A traveling registered nurse attending an event at Turner Hall with her husband heard the shots as she exited the building. She told police she ran to the scene and discovered Barber laying motionless in the street. She said her and another witness rendered aid until police arrived, but Barber was later declared dead.
Riley turned himself into police on March 2, and with an attorney, made a statement to police. He said he apologized to Barber for breaking her window but Barber continued to point the gun at him so his girlfriend defended him, according to the complaint.
Riley told police that he believed Barber was going to send for more people to come to the scene, based off statement he said she made, so he shot her more times, according to the complaint. He said he was concerned for his safety so he drove away.
According to Fox6 News, Riley’s 24-year-old girlfriend also has been arrested.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Glendale man charged with killing Milwaukee woman after downtown concert
Reporting by Drake Bentley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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