Milwaukee, WI gets pounded by black violence - Violent week leaves 23 hit by gunfire; 5 arrested in homicides

A violent week in Milwaukee left 23 people wounded by gunfire since Aug. 2, with seven of them dying from their wounds, officials said Friday.

In addition, a man was beaten to death, meaning the city recorded eight homicides from Aug. 2 through Thursday.

Police have arrested five suspects in connection with the shootings, and arrests have been made in four of the homicides.

Police Chief Edward Flynn said Friday that his department is making a concerted effort to help stem the violence.

"Our goal is to disrupt the environment, but disrupt it thoughtfully," Flynn told Journal Sentinel editors and reporters in a lengthy briefing at police headquarters on his department's response to the deadly outbreak of firearms violence.

On Friday, two people were charged in connection with the homicides that occurred last weekend, one in a gang-related fight and the other in a fight between brothers over drugs.

Alexis Chacon was charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the shooting death of 23-year-old Samuel M. Soto in a gang dispute. Soto was fatally shot about 12:40 a.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of W. Cleveland Ave.

The fight between Chacon and Soto began with punches and ended when Chacon allegedly fired a shot into Soto's abdomen, killing him, according to the criminal complaint.

Anthony Trigg, 55, was charged Friday with felony murder, accused of killing his brother, Darvin Trigg, 38, on Sunday in the 3600 block of N. 11th St.

A witness said the brothers, both known drug dealers in the neighborhood, were fighting in the street over drugs when Anthony Trigg picked up a heavy backpack and smashed it in Darvin Trigg's face, according to a criminal complaint.

Three men who were shot within the last eight days have since died:

■A 25-year-old man who was shot about 10:30 p.m. Aug. 2 in the 4100 block of N. 50 St. died from his wounds on Wednesday, and his death has been ruled a homicide, the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office said Friday. His identity has not been released.

■Xavier Melgoza, 18, was pronounced dead at 2 p.m. Wednesday after being shot when he tried to stop the theft of two 24-packs of beer from a south side grocery store at W. Hayes Ave. and S. 9th St., police said Friday.

Police have two suspects in custody and have a warrant for a third suspect who remained at large Friday.

■William Melendez Jr., 44, also was shot Tuesday afternoon while working at Family Dollar, 4331 W. Oklahoma Ave., and died from his wounds at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

On Friday, police identified the victim of a Wednesday homicide as Charles Atlas, 26, and said several suspects are in custody.

Atlas was involved in a quarrel that turned physical. His assailants left the area but returned and shot him in the 7600 block of N. 78th St., police said.

Police haven't released the identity of the second Wednesday homicide victim — a 26-year-old woman.

The woman was shot about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday while pumping gasoline at a station on N. Sherman Blvd. and W. Capitol Drive. A man walked up to the woman, shot her and stole her car, according to reports.

Milwaukee police released a photo of the shooting suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360.

The spike in violence in August comes after a 19% increase in nonfatal shootings in June and July, compared with the two months in 2012.

In the first six months of 2013, violent crime increased 5% compared with the same time period last year, thanks in large part to a 20% spike in robberies. Overall, crime fell in the same six-month period by 8% because of decreases in property crimes.

In its 2012 annual report to the FBI, the department reported that violent crime increased 9.4%, compared with the year before, the first increase since 2008.