Milwaukee, WI

Davion Patterson, 15, died amid ‘chaos.’ A Milwaukee man responsible is going to prison

Published

1 month ago

January 23, 2026

Press Room

Davion Patterson, 15, died amid ‘chaos.’ A Milwaukee man responsible is going to prison

This would have been Davion Patterson’s senior year in high school.

Graduation would have been right around the corner. Tiera Carter says she would’ve been right there, chest out, proud to watch her son march across the stage to pick up his diploma.

That didn’t happen.

Davion was 15 when he was shot to death as a gunman opened fire into a crowd of young onlookers who had gathered on Milwaukee’s north side to witness a fistfight between two girls.

“I will never be OK. Never,” Carter said at a Jan. 23 sentencing hearing for Romello Littlejohn, the man convicted of killing her first-born son. “His little brother will never know who he is, except for new pictures and us telling him stories about him.”

Littlejohn was 16 when he opened fire on a group that had gathered near 15th Street and Concordia Avenue nearly three years ago.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John Franke sentenced Littlejohn, now 18, to spend the next 25 years behind bars.

A jury found Littlejohn guilty in December of first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime and various other felonies in connection with the deadly March 20, 2023, shooting that killed Davion and injured five other people.

Here’s what prosecutors say happened to Davion Patterson

A group assembled at North 15th Street and Concordia Avenue as a street fight between two girls got underway.

According to a criminal complaint, Littlejohn threatened to “pop” anyone who harmed his sister, who was involved in the fight.

Moments later, shots rang out. As many as 30 of them, Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan said.

Davion suffered 11 gunshot wounds and died.

Five others suffered injuries.

One of them, now an 18-year-old woman, was shot in the back by Littlejohn. She testified she laid on the ground next to Davion after the shooting.

However, she was unable to stand or run for cover as bullets whizzed by; she was temporarily paralyzed after the shooting, but is now able to walk after undergoing multiple surgeries.

“This was an incident of chaos and madness,” Vance-Curzan said.

Several of those who showed up to watch the fight captured video on their cellphones. Some of the footage was shown during Littlejohn’s five-day trial.

Defense attorney William Sulton reminded the judge none of the bullets that killed him were matched to the weapon that Littlejohn fired.

People on the scene, including some victims who survived the shooting, said another person whom they identified also had a gun and was seen shooting during the fracas.

Vance-Curzan said another firearm was recovered at the scene, but no one else has been charged in the incident. Littlejohn needed to be held accountable for Davion’s death and the other injuries because he put things in motion by starting the shooting, he said.

Carter said the last two mental images she has of her son still make her emotional.

One is that of Davion cleaning the kitchen. The moment came before the shooting, and, ultimately, became the last “happy” memory she has of him.

The other was of Davion lying in a casket.

“[Littlejohn] does not deserve to have a life. My son’s life was taken. He does not deserve to have a life,” Carter said.

“What he did was malicious. He does not … deserve to get out. He deserves to die himself, just like my son died.”

Littlejohn’s mother, Sheila Jones, pleaded for leniency and less prison time for her son, arguing he has matured since the shooting.

“He’s redeemable,” she said.

The shooter spoke. What did he tell the judge?

Littlejohn spoke during the 90-minute hearing, saying he didn’t intend to shoot anyone, adding he was intoxicated at the time and “wasn’t using my right mindset.”

He said he has sat up every night, trying to think of a better solution for what happened, but hasn’t come up with one.

Littlejohn pleaded Franke to give him “a second chance on life,” so he could return to his family one day, and watch his nieces and brothers grow up.

Why did the case take nearly three years to get to this point?

Lawyers for Littlejohn tried to get his case moved into juvenile court. They argued he’d get better treatment within the juvenile system, citing his age at the time of the killing.

Court records show a judge in October 2023 rejected an appeal to have his case waived into juvenile court.

Since then, the court received a half dozen letters of support for Littlejohn, many of them from juvenile justice personnel.

Franke also ordered Littlejohn to serve 20 years of extended supervision once he is finished with his prison time. Littlejohn was given 1,048 days of in-custody credit, which can be applied to his sentence.

A restitution hearing has been set for Feb. 19. Vance-Curzan requested that Littlejohn be made to pay $5,300 to cover funeral costs.

Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Weather – Frosty and cold morning, sunny day ahead

Published

7 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels

Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.

Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10

Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5

Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10

Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10

Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10

Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10

6-day planner

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

FOX Weather app

FOX Weather

Big picture view:

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.

FOX6 Weather Experts in social media

Daily ForecastWeatherMilwaukee

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Milwaukee, WI

Four new community-powered fridges open on Milwaukee’s North Side

Published

19 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Four new community-powered fridges open on Milwaukee’s North Side

Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.

The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.

Ald. Russell W. Stamper, II, emceed the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of four new community-powered fridges.

District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.

“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.

People fill up the community-powered fridge with fresh produce.

In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.

This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.

Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talks about opening the first community-powered fridge at her cafe.

Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.

“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.

Danell Cross (right), executive director at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Metcalfe Park resident Farina Brooks (left), and other attendees applaud during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.

Residents line up to fill the community-powered fridge with fresh produce.

“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.

Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:

Metcalfe Park Community Bridges

3624 W. North Ave.

Rooted & Rising- Washington Park

3940 W. Lisbon Ave.

Sherman Park Community Association

3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.

Dominican Center

2470 W. Locust St.

Tricklebee Café

4424 W. North Ave.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Milwaukee, WI

At the Bar

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The bar can be “the place” where memories are made, friendships blossom, and stories live forever. This episode of Real Stories MKE features stories from Dasha Kelly, Kristia Wildflower, Shep Crumrine, and Katelyn Nye. Real Stories MKE is hosted by Kim Shine and Joel Dresang with support from producer Jasmine Gonzalez and audio engineer Sam Woods.

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