The Brief
- Yadriel Villegas-Rivera allegedly assaulted and shot a man following a car crash on Milwaukee’s south side on Feb. 23.
- Investigators recovered 20 shell casings and used surveillance footage to determine Villegas-Rivera used a fully automatic machine gun equipped with an “auto-sear.”
- Villegas-Rivera faces five charges, and is currently held on a $50,000 bond.
MILWAUKEE – A 20-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of firing multiple shots and wounding a man after a car crash on the city’s south side on Feb. 23. The accused is Yadriel Villegas-Rivera – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- First-degree recklessly endangering safety
- Endanger safety by use of a dangerous weapon (discharged firearm into vehicle or building)
- Sell/possess/use/transport machine gun
- Resisting an officer
- Misdemeanor battery
Crash and shooting
What we know:
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded on Monday morning, Feb. 23, to a two-car accident near 6th and Scott. After officers were dispatched to the scene, a person called 911 saying his friend was shot. Officers located the 17-year-old victim near 8th and Washington, just a couple of blocks from the original crash scene. The victim told officers “he was in a car accident and had just been shot,” the complaint says. The victim suffered graze wounds to shoulder and back. He was taken to Children’s Wisconsin for treatment of the injuries.
Later, officers interviewed the victim, who admitted he collided with a gray vehicle near 6th and Scott. He said when he got out of his car after the crash, “he was aggressively approached by the driver of the gray car, later identified as the defendant, Yadriel Villegas-Rivera, who was holding a firearm with an extended clip. (The victim) stated that the defendant hit him and pushed him to the ground,” the complaint says. The victim also said the defendant hit him with the firearm. When the victim got into his car to drive away from the scene, he told police “he heard six shots and realized he was shot,” the complaint says.
Dig deeper:…