Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee homicide; woman found dead in alley, man charged
MILWAUKEE – A 31-year-old Milwaukee man has been criminally charged in connection to a homicide that occurred on Saturday, Nov. 23. The victim was found dead in an alley on Milwaukee’s south side.
The accused, Joshua Santos, is charged with one count of first degree intentional homicide.
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched to the area of 8th and Becher around 7:30 a.m. for reports of a subject down in an alley. The 911 caller indicated that there was a woman lying in the alley and that it looked like she’d “been dumped there,” the complaint states.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Officer determined the cause of death as probable asphyxia due to strangulation, per the complaint.
Detectives recovered security footage from the alleyway. This video captured a light green or light gray sedan, believed to be a Lexus ES sedan. Officials were able to track down the vehicle using the license plate reader database. When authorities arrived at the listed address, they located the 2003 Lexus ES Sedan parked outside.
Per the complaint, the owner of the vehicle told detectives that on Nov. 22 she let a friend of hers known as “Josh Santos” use the vehicle. She stated that Santos dropped her off at work at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22 and then picked her up again in her Lexus that same day at approximately 11 p.m.
She claims as she exited work on Nov. 22 and went to her vehicle, Santos was in the back seat, with another person she believed to be a female. The vehicle owner indicated that the female was covered by a blanket – and that she smelled a strong odor coming from the back seat. Santos allegedly told her that someone had thrown up in the back seat, court filings say.
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The owner of the Lexus told investigators she did not see the person under the blanket move or get out of the vehicle at any time.
The owner of the Lexus stated they eventually drove to her residence and remained there until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. on Nov. 23. She stated when they arrived at her house, the female was still in the back seat, fully covered with a blanket – and that she remained in the car underneath the blanket the whole time they were at her residence. She told investigators she thought the female was just drunk.
The owner of the Lexus claims that between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Nov. 23, Santos stated to her “let’s get ready to go”. The woman stated she got up and they both re-entered the Lexus. Once inside the vehicle, the woman claims she reached back and touched the female and found her to be still, “hard to the touch” and cold, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman stated she began to drive and followed Santos’ directions going in and out of numerous alleys on the south side of Milwaukee. She stated that while driving in one of the alleys, Santos climbed through the car to the back seat and ordered her to stop the vehicle. The vehicle owner stated Santos then opened the rear door to the vehicle and physically pushed the female out of the car and into the alley.
According to the complaint, the vehicle owner told detectives that she and Santos then went to a Dollar Tree where she bought “Spick and Span” cleaner and towels. She stated that she and Santos then spent 15 to 20 minutes cleaning the feces and blood out of the car. She stated that Santos did not tell her much about the female, and that “all he told me was, sorry,” the complaint states.
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After cleaning out her vehicle, she claims she drove Santos to the bus stop at the intersection of Kinnickinnic Avenue and Oklahoma Avenue, where she dropped him off and he exited her vehicle.
In custody
Per the complaint, during an interview with investigators, Santos admitted to killing the victim and dumping her body in an alley. He allegedly told detectives that while driving his friend’s car, he decided he wanted to get some cocaine and drove to the area of 18th and Greenfield on Nov. 22. Santos stated that a woman got into his car at that location, and that she had the “hook up” for drugs and that they needed to find her supplier. They allegedly drove around Greenfield until they found a van and the woman got $40 worth of crack and cocaine.
Santos told detectives that he snorted the cocaine and the woman smoked the crack cocaine. Santos stated that the reason that he went to this woman is because prostitutes always know where to get drugs, according to the complaint.
Santos told investigators that the woman then became angry, and was acting weird and wanted “more drugs, more money, more everything,” per the complaint.
Court filings say Santos stated that he sometimes sees and hears things and that his head was “weird” during that time with the woman. He said something in him “snapped” and he admitted to strangling the victim with a belt. Santos allegedly told detectives he strangled the victim to “get her to shut up, stop asking for stuff” but stated he doesn’t really know and doesn’t really remember why he did it, per the complaint.
Initial appearance
Santos made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Sunday, Dec. 1. Cash bond was set at $350,000. The court also ordered a competency examination for Santos.
MILWAUKEE — Five teenagers were arrested on Thursday following a police pursuit that started on the 5500 block of W. Silver Spring Drive at around 10 a.m.
The teenagers were seen by the Milwaukee Police Department in a wanted vehicle that was involved in an armed robbery, and attempted to stop the vehicle.
The driver refused to stop, starting the police pursuit.
TMJ4
The pursuit ended when the suspect exited the vehicle and started to run on foot on W. Appleton Place, according to MPD.
MPD then arrested a 16-year-old female, a 16-year-old male, two 17-year-old females, and a 15-year-old male.
Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
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BY ALEXANDRA G STAHL AND AMRITA THAKKAR
Every year, Milwaukee Riverkeeper organizes one of the biggest volunteer-led cleanups in the city – a gargantuan effort that has Milwaukeeans out in droves to clean up the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers after the first of the spring rains. The science-based advocacy organization works for clean, swimmable, fishable and drinkable water in the Milwaukee River Basin year-round, but April is their biggest push, as they set up what is likely the largest volunteer-led event in the state.
For their 31st annual cleanup on April 25, however, the Riverkeepers had a goal that dwarfed every previous year – they wanted to break the world record for the world’s biggest river cleanup. With 124 clean-up sites this year (versus last year’s 100), they were confident that they had a good chance at the title.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
“The people’s power is something pretty spectacular,” says Jennifer Bolger Breceda, executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper. “Our spring cleanup is really kind of a kickoff of spring to a lot of people. We have a lot of nuisance pollution in Milwaukee because of our winters, and the snow covers up a lot of the trash for a significant period of time. When it melts it becomes pretty noticeable, so it’s a perfect time to get out there and do the cleanup.”
Tru Earth, the presenting sponsor of the cleanup, originally approached Riverkeeper with the idea of breaking a world record, aiming to see if the title already existed or if they could create one. The organizations reached out to Guinness World Records, and it turned out there was already an existing world record for “Most Participants in a River Clean-up (multiple locations).” The record had previously been set at a cleanup of the Taff River in the United Kingdom, with 1,327 participants.
But applying to break the record was the easy part – once Guinness was on board, the real work began. The record had to be judged against the previous record, and it had to be done exactly the same way.
“We had to train more volunteers to support our other volunteers, to watch, witness and adjudicate them,” explains Bolger Breceda. “We also had an adjudicator from Guinness present on the day of the event.”
The extra layer caused some logistical challenges. While previous events were more casual, with volunteers showing up in their own time, Riverkeeper requested that volunteers show up early this year so everyone could start at 9 a.m. Every site captain was added to a text message chain, so that all sites started work at the same time.
The event drew over 4,923 volunteers and ended up with approximately 111,452 pounds of trash collected. While Guinness only counted 2,082 people due to their own adjudication standards, it still easily surpassed the previous record.
While Riverkeeper called for pre-registrations well in advance so they could organize for supplies, Bolger Breceda says that they didn’t put in any extra effort into recruiting the record-breaking number. “With the flooding and the rains a couple weeks before the clean-up, as well as the storm last August, people really wanted to clean up the river,” she explains. “There was a lot of trash, debris and litter, and the demand to clean, so to speak, was high.”
As always, the clean-up resulted in a number of strange finds – three toilets, two mattresses, five fire extinguishers, 39 tires, 11 construction barrels, six construction signs, six shopping carts, a golf bag with clubs and even a wheelchair.
The record was announced at Rock the Green at the Harley-Davidson Museum later that day. “It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to put Milwaukee on the map,” says Bolger Breceda.
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Festival of Flowers is returning to Riverwalk Commons at the Milwaukee Public Market this Saturday, running from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The free event features a flower market with vendors selling fresh flowers, art, and handmade goods, along with live music on the Riverwalk Common stage.
Milwaukee Public Market
A new floral art installation from Botanical Collective will also be on display, serving as a photo opportunity for attendees. The installation builds on a similar display from last year’s event.
WATCH: Milwaukee’s Festival of Flowers returns for a second year with new additions
Milwaukee’s Festival of Flowers returns for second year with new additions
“So things that you might have seen last year are absolutely coming back. We have free live music on the Riverwalk Common stage. We have a flower market with vendors selling fresh flowers, art, handmade goods, all of that really fun stuff. Then we also have Botanical Collective last year made this beautiful floral art installation that also acted as a photo op. This year it’s going to look a little different, so we’re really excited to see what they put together,” said Paige Hammond with the Milwaukee Public Market.
Milwaukee Public Market
Also new this year, the festival will kick off with a free yoga class at 11 a.m. Attendees are asked to bring their own mat.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Let’s talk:
Hey there! At TMJ4 News, we’re all about listening to our audience and tackling the stuff that really matters to you. Got a story idea, tip, or just want to chat about this piece? Hit us up using the form below. For more ways to get in touch, head over to tmj4.com/tips.
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