Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee teen gets life in 2024 shooting deaths of 2 St. Anthony High students
Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent talks about youth gun violence
Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius has worked in Minneapolis, Memphis and Boston. She says she has never seen gun violence so bad.
A Milwaukee teenager convicted of killing two St. Anthony High School students will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Circuit Judge Laura Crivello handed down the life sentence for Moses Martinez on Nov. 14. Martinez filed papers that same day signaling his intent to appeal the conviction, online court records show.
Martinez was 17 when prosecutors say he fatally shot Diego Herrera-Mejia, 16, and Isaac Rodriguez, 15, on the 800 block of West Manitoba Street on June 15, 2024.
In August, a jury found Martinez, now 18, guilty of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless injury and fleeing police.
The state dismissed charges of driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent and misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor.
Here’s what prosecutors say happened to Diego Herrera-Mejia and Isaac Rodriguez
Family members told police investigators the two teens were walking with a few friends and cousins on Manitoba Street when “some guys on a scooter” came up to them and tried to provoke them.
A third person, a 14-year-old girl, also was shot, but survived the attack.
Martinez was arrested two months after the shooting.
Diego and Isaac, friends since middle school, were set to begin their sophomore year together in the fall at St. Anthony, on Milwaukee’s south side.
According to a criminal complaint, a 14-year-old girl told police she was part of a group that was walking away from a party when two teens approached on a scooter.
At some point, one of the two teens pulled out a gun and started shooting at the group, hitting Diego and Isaac, the complaint says. The girl also was injured by gunfire but survived.
Why was this case important?
Martinez’s trial offered the latest evidence of Milwaukee’s ongoing struggle with a swell of juvenile crime involving guns and homicides.
There have been 128 homicides reported in the city of Milwaukee in 2025 as of Nov. 13. During the same period in 2024, the year Diego and Isaac were killed, there were 117 killings reported in the city, according to Milwaukee police statistics.
There have been 20 homicides reported in Milwaukee since January involving victims 17 and younger, compared with 17 during all of 2024, department statistics say.
In 2023, there were 16 child homicides reported in the city.
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.