Monday, September 28, 2009

Badger Guns "Oblivious to the Obvious"

Early Saturday morning, I opened my e-mail to find a rather bizarre photo taken of a sign posted in the parking lot of a West Milwaukee gun store. The sign read, "Racist Milwaukee Police Dep. is pulling over African Americans leaving this store. Sorry for the inconvenience." My initial thought: this sign, posted in the parking lot of Badger Guns, is a bogus, Photo Shop spoof, similar to the Brett Favre Depends endorsement making its way around the Internet. Checking the local media sites, however, I observed that a report concerning this particular sign had aired on WTMJ Channel 4.

The current effort to checkout suspicious customers of Badger Guns stems, in a large part, from the shootings of two police officers in Walker's Point earlier this year. Jacob D. Collins purchased the firearm used in the crime, a 40-caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol, from Badger Guns. Collins later provided the weapon to Julius Caesar Burton, age 18, the alleged gunmen (Burton was present in the store when Collins purchased the firearm).

Almost two years ago, two other Milwaukee police officers suffered gunshot wounds from a straw bought firearm purchased at Badger Guns. In that case, Jose Fernandez, 26, pled guilty to providing a gun purchased from Badger to Victor Velez, who was just 15 years of age at the time.



Prior to the shootings of these four police officers, Badger Guns developed a well-known reputation as the preferred destination for Wisconsin straw buyers. In 2008, federal authorities indicted Milwaukeeans Kizzie Lesure and Tabitha Lynch, both of whom, it is alleged, purchased firearms with the intent of providing them to a prohibited person. This duo bought at least seven firearms from Badger Guns.

While the management of Badger Guns changed in 2007, the current owner, Adam Allen, is, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A longtime employee of Badger Outdoors" who "bought the store...and reopened it under a slightly different name." Some current and former law enforcement officers are of the opinion that the old saying, 'Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,' is applicable to the gun store.

"In some of the cases," said one law enforcement veteran, recalling investigations emanating from Badger Guns/Outdoor, "you'd have to oblivious to the obvious to think that something wasn't right. When a 23 year-old female strolls into a gun shop and plops down $1,200 for a ballistic vest and two semi-automatic pistols, of the same make and model, common sense dictates the transaction doesn't pass the smell test."

During another investigation stemming from Badger Guns, a 32 year-old woman admitted accepting Valium, marijuana, and hallucinogenic mushrooms as payment to purchase a Jennings 9mm pistol for convicted felon Thomas Stolpa, who was present in the parking lot of Badger when the sale went down inside.

But felons' interest with Badger extends beyond the checkout counter. The store also maintains an indoor shooting range. In the past, convicted felons and Latin King gang members Carmello 'Hitman' Pintor and Freddie Hernandez visited the shop to target practice. Federal authorities later indicted both men for possessing firearms.

The fact that felons use the confines of Badger's facility to fine tune their marksmanship skills is particularly disturbing. Many law enforcement officers are aware that employees of Badger Guns have access to computers, and could easily check the identification of individuals using the range against an online data base. After all, felons are not the only persons prohibited from possessing firearms. Offenders on probation for simple misdemeanors typically cannot possess weapons. If the management of Badger Guns is serious about turning prohibited persons away, the owner could easily implement a policy requiring a simple search of CCAP for range users.

The evidence that something is up at Badger Guns is certainly not new or coincidental. As far back as 1999, a headline in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel proclaimed, "Gun Shop Tied to 40 Homicide Weapons." Ten years ago, the federal government reported that almost half of all firearms used in crimes were linked to just one percent of licensed sellers. Near the top of the list was Badger Guns/Outdoor.

Instead of addressing the problem, the current ownership of Badger Guns appears intent with taking a cheap shot at the Milwaukee Police Department, accusing officers of being racists. The gun store's reaction to the warranted MPD crackdown leaves me to wonder: should straw buyers stay away, could Badger Guns remain a viable business?

Copyright Steven Spingola, Milwaukee, WI, 2009

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Killer in Our Grasp: the North Side Strangler Unmasked

In early September the Milwaukee Police Department issued a BOLO alert for a vehicle belonging to the girlfriend of Walter E. Ellis, a man DNA linked to nine murdered women.

Fourteen miles to the south of the North Side Strangler's haunts, suburban Police Officer Jason Fincel jotted down the license plates of vehicles parked at the cheap motels in his beat. Located on the far southwest side of Milwaukee County, the sprawling suburb of Franklin has a reputation for good schools and safe neighborhoods. Yet several main thoroughfares create a well traveled grid through this city of 34,000. After grabbing a cup of joe, the young officer returned to his squad and proceeded to run the license plates through the NCIC computer. To Fincel's surprise, the vehicle listed to Ellis' girlfriend came back with a hit to a Milwaukee homicide suspect.

After confirming this information with the Milwaukee police, law enforcement officers made contact with the Park Motel's night manager. The motel's surveillance video provided images of Ellis' girlfriend, absent the alleged killer. As luck would have it, the rooms on either side of the suspect's remained vacant, providing officers with an opportunity to identify the voices on the other side of the thin walls. After hearing a male's voice, detectives obtained the legal documents necessary to enter and search the motel room.

Within minutes, a swarm of heavily armed, tactically trained Milwaukee police officers joined their Franklin colleagues. When the blue blanket moved in, Ellis put up quite a fight. Nine officers grappled with the alleged serial killer. During the struggle, Ellis reached for an officer's high powered rifle. Heavily outnumbered, Ellis was subdued, handcuffed and shackled.

While only 14 miles separate the near north side of Milwaukee from the Park Motel, as far as demographics are concerned, these two areas are worlds away. In 2007, the average income of a Franklin household was $70,000. In the neighborhoods of Milwaukee, however, where the North Side Strangler hunted his victims, 73 percent of families with children receive public assistance. Nonetheless, knowledgeable street cops know the spots no-goodniks frequent, which is precisely why Officer Fincel had eyed the parking lot of the Park Motel.

With news of an arrest the saga of the man identified as the alleged North Side Strangler has begun. While in police custody, Ellis refused to answer questions without the presence of legal counsel. Online court records show that Ellis is represented by Russell Jones, a lawyer with a solid courtroom reputation. I believe Ellis' attorney will argue that his client paid for sex but isn't a killer. In several instances, the DNA belonging to multiple persons was found at these crimes scenes. The Milwaukee County DA's office will counter by highlighting the statistical probably of Ellis' DNA being found at all seven locations.

Follow this blog for updates, as well as insights into other homicide cases. And please check out the e-magazine expose I authored exclusively for Amazon.com, The Killer in Our Midst: the Case of Milwaukee's North Side Strangler.
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Steve Spingola is an author and retired Milwaukee Police Department homicide detective