Daquela S. Collins, 25, has admitted in court to buying a gun for someone else and to neglect tied to the fatal shooting of her 6-year-old son, according to court records. Relatives identified the boy as Da'quell "King" Collins, who was found with a gun inside the family's north-side home on April 1, 2025.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, online court records show Collins entered guilty pleas on May 26 and is scheduled to be sentenced July 16. Prosecutors say the charges include straw purchasing and neglect that resulted in bodily harm.
What Police Say They Found
Investigators processed the scene at a house on the 4200 block of North 51st Boulevard, where first responders found the child unresponsive with a handgun nearby. A criminal complaint filed in the case, available through Urban Milwaukee, says detectives later recovered a loaded Springfield Armory XD 9mm hidden under a garbage can in an alley and that a firearm registered to Collins was located next to the boy. Hoodline previously covered the original April 2025 charges in a piece titled Mother and uncle charged.
Uncle Sentenced Last Week
Collins' brother, Quintell Collins, pleaded guilty earlier and was sentenced May 22 to a lengthy prison term followed by extended supervision, according to Court TV. Prosecutors told the judge that he had posted videos showing himself with guns while the boy was in the home and then hid a weapon after the shooting.
Legal Consequences
Straw purchasing and the firearms-related felonies described in the complaint carry steep penalties under Wisconsin law. The criminal complaint available via Urban Milwaukee notes that a Class G felony can bring up to 10 years in prison and fines as high as $25,000, while the neglect count carries separate maximum exposure. Collins is due back in court for sentencing in mid-July.
Broader Context
National data show unintentional firearm deaths make up a small share of child firearm fatalities, but local reporting has highlighted a stubborn pattern in Wisconsin. WUWM summarized a Journal Sentinel analysis that counted nearly 200 unintentional shootings involving children in Wisconsin over an eight-year span and noted roughly half occurred in Milwaukee County. A federal review from the CDC likewise underscores that unintentional firearm deaths are a minority of child firearm deaths nationally.
Prosecutors at recent hearings have argued that these deaths are largely preventable - "The term accident is used all too frequently," prosecutor Matthew Torbenson said, according to Court TV. Collins is scheduled to return to Milwaukee County court on July 16 for sentencing, according to online court records.
