Crime & Safety
Muskego Man Charged in South Side Shooting
A 28-year-old Muskego man could spend up to a year in jail after Milwaukee police officers say he shot at another man midday on a city street corner despite numerous witnesses and children in the area.
A 28-year-old Muskego man is accused of two misdemeanor crimes after police say he took part in a brazen midday shooting on the south side of Milwaukee. Reports say he shot at another man without regard for children or innocent bystanders in the area.
Erik Thomas Halverson was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Friday with one count of disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon and one count of obstructing an officer. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison and $11,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
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At 3:39 p.m. Nov. 25, Milwaukee police officers were alerted to a shots fired call in the 1200 block of South Cesar E. Chavez Drive, where witnesses reported three men were shooting at each other from across the street. Witnesses said a man on a bicycle began to flash gang signs at two other men across the street, then they exchanged words and began shooting at each other.
Children and other bystanders were present for the shooting and bullets were found lodged in a nearby building.
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Witnesses said two of the men fled on foot and got into a silver car, then drove westbound on West Scott Street. The license plate number was traced back to Halverson’s mother’s home in the W18300 block of Jean Drive in Muskego.
Officers went to the home Nov. 28, where officers found a gun holster in the car and a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun wrapped in a T-shirt in Halverson’s room. He was then placed under arrest and taken in for questioning.
Halverson said he was driving in the area the day of the shooting when he saw a friend named Tony, so he picked him up and they went to a liquor store. He said while walking into the liquor store, a man on a bicycle motioned to them to come across the street and as they did he began to fire at them, so Halverson returned fire with a gun he had concealed on him.
However, security footage from a nearby business showed Halverson and another man gesturing with the man on the bicycle, then going back to the car where they armed themselves with hidden guns, then walked back to the area where the man on the bicycle began to fire at them.
Halverson will make his initial appearance in court Dec. 28.
