A late-night meeting in a northwest-side parking lot has now turned into a felony murder case. Prosecutors say 29-year-old Amier Jones has been charged with felony murder in connection with the Jan. 13 shooting that killed 28-year-old Frank Mosley III in a lot near 84th Street and Bender Avenue on Milwaukee's northwest side. According to charging documents, the killing followed an alleged plan to rob a man who had gone to the area to sell pills, and investigators say they tied Jones to the scene before arresting him after a multi-county high-speed chase that ended in Pleasant Prairie. Jones is scheduled to appear in court this week on the new charge.
The felony murder count was filed this week, and court records show Jones already has several other felony cases pending in Milwaukee County, along with prior convictions for attempted robbery and false imprisonment. According to WISN 12 News, prosecutors also accuse Jones of contacting a crime victim more than 1,500 times from jail and say he was separately charged with threatening a Milwaukee police officer using his jail-issued tablet.
Police identified the man killed in the January shooting as Mosley, a 28-year-old from Kenosha. Officers said they found him shot in an apartment-complex parking lot near 84th and Bender on the morning of Jan. 13. Early reports focused on the crime scene and urged anyone who might have seen or heard anything to call Milwaukee police or Crime Stoppers.
Prosecutors' Account And Evidence
A criminal complaint, summarized by prosecutors and reported by FOX6 Milwaukee, states that surveillance video from the lot showed a black Jeep and a gray Mazda pull in. The footage allegedly captures Mosley walking up to the Mazda, after which the driver suddenly speeds away.
Investigators say officers found a gun on the ground next to Mosley, and that a fingerprint on the weapon matched Jones. They also report finding a backpack in Jones' vehicle that they say appeared to match a bag worn by the suspect seen on the surveillance recording. According to the complaint, the Mazda's driver told police he had gone to the area to sell pills and that he was armed. Prosecutors say that driver admitted firing two or three shots as he drove off and that cellphone and social media records connect Jones to what investigators describe as a planned armed robbery.
Charges And What They Mean
Jones now faces a felony murder charge, a type of count under Wisconsin law that applies when a death occurs while someone is committing or attempting certain listed felonies. The charge can be brought under the state's party-to-a-crime rules even if the defendant did not personally fire the fatal shot, according to Justia.
Jury instructions cited by the Wisconsin State Law Library note that prosecutors must prove the death was caused while the defendant was committing or attempting one of the specified felonies, a connection that often becomes a key point in pretrial motions and at trial. If a jury convicts on felony murder, the potential prison term can stretch for decades, depending on the underlying felony and any prior-offender sentencing enhancers.
According to FOX6 Milwaukee, Jones is expected to make his initial appearance on the new charge this week. Police and local reports continue to urge anyone with information to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360 or Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS as detectives work to piece together the full timeline of what happened near 84th and Bender.
