The Brief
- A Milwaukee jury convicted Brandon Smith of first-degree reckless homicide for the February 2025 shooting death of his brother, Justin Smith.
- Prosecutors say the shooting was fueled by the defendant’s false belief that his brother was involved with his ex-wife and was monitoring his phone to “ambush” him.
- Smith is scheduled for sentencing on June 5.
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee County jury found Brandon Smith guilty on Wednesday, April 1, of killing his brother inside a home near 47th and Stark in February 2025. Smith was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide.
Smith is now scheduled to be sentenced on June 5.
Case details
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched early on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 to a shooting near 47th and Stark. When officers arrived on the scene, they made contact with a person inside a house who stated, “this is the one that hurt the other one,” the complaint says. Officers walked into another room and found Justin Smith on the ground surrounded by blood. Smith had suffered a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased on the scene. Officials say near Smith’s body was a hammer.
A detective spoke with a woman who was at the residence, living there with the victim and the defendant. The complaint says the woman “stated that the defendant believed that his brother (the victim), had been in an intimate relationship with the defendant’s ex-wife, but (the woman) indicated this was not factual.” The woman also showed police where “she hid the defendant’s gun, and that gun was recovered,” the complaint says.…