A Milwaukee teen who triggered a high-speed police chase at age 16 will spend five years in prison for the crash that paralyzed, and later killed, 46-year-old Anthony Higgins.
Jaylen Lock, now 18, pleaded guilty this week to second-degree reckless homicide and was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Swanson credited Lock with more than a year already served and ordered the five-year term to run at the same time as a separate seven-year sentence Lock is serving for fleeing police, according to FOX6 Milwaukee.
How the chase unfolded
The case traces back to shortly after midnight on June 9, 2024, when officers responding to reports of gunfire spotted a silver Dodge Charger speeding away near 19th Street and Olive Street. Police gave chase.
The pursuit stretched more than six miles and at times hit speeds over 90 mph before the Charger blew through a stop sign and slammed into a Honda Odyssey at North 9th Street and West Keefe Avenue. Higgins, who was in the Odyssey, was left paralyzed, FOX6 Milwaukee reported.
Lock, who was 16 at the time of the crash, later told officers he fled because he was scared and only had a learner’s permit, according to the criminal complaint cited by FOX6 Milwaukee.
Family pushes for pursuit-policy changes
Higgins’ family cared for him for 16 months after the crash before he died in October. His mother has since pushed for tighter limits on high-risk police pursuits, telling WISN 12, “Too many innocent people are dying.” Relatives and local advocates argue that Lock’s punishment cannot touch the long-term toll on Higgins’ children and caregivers.
The Fire and Police Commission has recommended restricting pursuits for certain traffic offenses, but Police Chief Jeffrey Norman rejected those proposals. Commissioners have asked the Milwaukee Common Council’s Public Safety and Health Committee to take up the issue, according to WISN 12. The commission points out that nine people died in chase-related crashes in 2025 and says a recent change in state law gives the council new leverage to enforce pursuit-policy reforms.
Prosecutors initially charged Lock only with fleeing police after the June 2024 pursuit. They later added the second-degree reckless homicide count after the medical examiner linked Higgins’ October death to blunt-force injuries from the crash, according to FOX6 Milwaukee. With Lock’s guilty plea and the concurrent sentences, the criminal cases tied to the collision are now largely wrapped up in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Defense attorneys and prosecutors did not immediately comment after the sentencing, and court records indicate Lock will serve his overlapping terms with credit for time already served.
