GUILTY WI - Laylah Petersen, 5, fatally shot, Milwaukee, 13 Nov 2014

[PastTense]

A 5-year-old girl was fatally shot while sitting on her grandfather's lap when two people approached her Milwaukee home and opened fire, according to police, who sought help Friday in finding the suspects.

Laylah Petersen was shot in the head when one of a dozen bullets that hit the home came through a wall about 6 p.m. Thursday. Laylah, who was sitting on a couch with her grandfather, died at a hospital.

Investigators said there was no clear motive for the shooting and they needed the public's help to find those responsible for the shooting on the city's northwest side. Police said officers had no previous calls to the home, and they don't believe anyone living at the home was specifically targeted.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/5yearold-girl-shot-while-_n_6123908.html

Family donates heart of 5-year-old Milwaukee girl, shot in head
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-...-milwaukee-girl-laylah-petersen-shot-in-head/

 

[katydid23]

OMG. How devastating. I don't even know what to think. What a beautiful baby. RIP Sweet Girl. :rose:

 

[inapickle]

Oh, sweet baby! Why are the children so often the victims?

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Milwaukee man guilty in Laylah Petersen homicide - September

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/09/29/laylah-peterson-homicide-case-goes-jury/91262674/

A jury convicted Carl Barrett Jr. of first-degree reckless homicide Thursday in the fatal shooting of 5-year-old Laylah Petersen.

It also found Barrett guilty of recklessly endangering the safety of Laylah's grandmother, grandfather and sister who were present during the shooting.

Laylah's family applauded the investigators and prosecutor who tried the case and left the courtroom without speaking to reporters. Prosecutor Sara Beth Hill said the family sounded pleased to get "the justice that they were seeking."

On the evening of Nov. 6, 2014, she said, Barrett, 21, was helping Arlis Gordon, 24, who was upset because a jury had found a man charged with killing Gordon's half brother not guilty earlier in the day. Gordon and Barrett thought they were shooting up the home of the acquitted defendant's girlfriend.

But it actually was Laylah's grandparents' house, in the 5000 block of N. 58th St., where she was on her grandfather's lap in the living room when one of the rounds hit her in the forehead.

Paul Farr, who said he drove Gordon and Barrett to the scene and back; and Divonte Forbes, Farr's cousin, who said he lent his camouflaged gun to Gordon.

Farr, 25, had lied to and misled investigators until after he was charged in Laylah's death. He then agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony.

Forbes, 23, wasn't even charged in the case, but reached a plea agreement in other cases, and testified to being in the car, and lending his gun to Gordon. Gordon also pleaded guilty in Laylah's shooting, but did not testify.

Man who loaned gun in Laylah Petersen death sentenced

The man who says he provided one of the guns used in the fatal shooting of 5-year-old Laylah Petersen was sentenced Friday to 11 years for shooting up a car and a house with children inside.

Divonte Forbes, 23, was convicted of shooting up a house on Nov. 6, 2014, the same day as Laylah's killing, as part of a retaliatory feud. Investigators said shell casings recovered at that scene, in the area of W. Meinecke Ave. and N. 10th St., matched those found at the scene of Laylah's homicide.

"There's only one difference between that situation and the Laylah Petersen situation and that is fortunately no one was struck by the bullet," Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Frederick C. Rosa said.

Attorney gives $25K reward to tipster in Laylah Petersen case

Antoine Buchanan says he helped Milwaukee police with their investigation into Laylah Petersen's killing for a simple reason: A 5-year-old girl was dead.

"It's not about snitching," he said Wednesday. "It's about drawing a line. You have to draw the line somewhere."

Attorney Michael Hupy had offered a $25,000 reward for the first person to provide authorities with information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the homicide. On Wednesday, he personally handed a check to Buchanan, who provided tips to the police, wore a wire to record one of the suspects and testified during the trial of another suspect.

Buchanan, who said he has no immediate plans on how to spend the reward money, acknowledged his close relationship with Forbes and Barrett.

"They're like family, I love them," he said. "I know this may take a toll on our relationship and everything, but like I said what if it had been one of them or one of their kids? She didn't deserve that."

Carl Barrett Jr. will be sentenced on December 1st and Arlis Gordon will be sentenced on December 8th. I'm not sure if Paul Farr has been sentenced yet.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Driver in Laylah Petersen homicide sentenced

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/11/04/driver-laylah-petersen-homicide-sentenced/93257086/

The man convicted of driving the two men who opened fire and killed 5-year-old Laylah Petersen while she was inside her grandparents' house will spend five months in jail with the promise of a decade in the prison system if he violates the terms of his probation.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner followed the prosecutor's recommendation when he handed down the sentence to Paul Farr, 25, who pleaded guilty to two felony counts of aiding a felon. Farr agreed to testify against one of the shooters as part of a plea deal that resulted in one of his felony convictions being dropped.

Farr, a father of two young girls, apologized during his sentencing hearing Friday.

"I want people to stop doing all this crazy stuff in the community and just stay safe and to take care of your kids and get a job," he said. "Just do the right thing."

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Shooter in Laylah Petersen homicide gets 65 years

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/01/1-2-shooters-laylah-petersen-homicide-sentenced/94723042/

One of two men convicted of firing shots into a Milwaukee home and killing 5-year-old Laylah Petersen as she sat on her grandfather's lap was sentenced to 65 years in prison Thursday, essentially a life sentence.

Carl Barrett Jr., 21, was convicted by a jury of first-degree reckless homicide and three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, all as a party to the crime, after a four-day trial in September. He also was sentenced to 35 years of extended supervision.

"When the gunfire started, you shattered the security, the peacefulness of a community," Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Wagner said.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

2nd shooter in Laylah Petersen slaying gets 30 years

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/08/2nd-shooter-laylah-petersen-slaying-gets-30-years/95141402/

The man who was seeking vengeance in another homicide case and targeting someone else when he took part in a shooting that killed 5-year-old Laylah Petersen was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday.

Arlis Gordon, 24, received the sentence during an emotion-filled hearing that ended with deputies escorting both families out of the courtroom separately.

"We never hurt anybody, we never did anything to deserve this," said Robert Petersen, Laylah's father. "We were just good people who loved each other and he took her away from us for no reason."

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner said if everyone acted like Gordon, as a vigilante, there would be "chaos and anarchy."

"We live in a society of laws and everybody in this community is expected to follow the laws," he said before issuing the sentence, which includes 19 years of extended supervision after the 30 years in prison.

"You have left the family with a legacy of sadness," he said.