Two Beloit men are facing decades in prison after prosecutors say they forced their way into a home on the 1300 block of Shirland Avenue near midnight, held a knife to the resident's neck, and made off with his Chevrolet Equinox and a handbag containing $700 in cash. Kerrick Franklin, 48, and Kenneth Swan, 54, both appeared in Rock County Circuit Court and are due back Monday for preliminary hearings.
The incident happened on July 23, when the two men allegedly entered the victim's residence and held a knife to his neck before taking his vehicle and handbag, according to a criminal complaint cited by the Beloit Daily News. The man called police to report the crime, and investigators say he later identified Franklin from police and Facebook photos. Swan was allegedly identified through security footage from Franklin's residence.
Felony Charges Carry Decades of Prison Exposure
Franklin faces charges of armed carjacking, armed robbery with threat of force, and armed burglary, with his carjacking charge standing as the most serious count against him. Swan faces the same three charges plus five misdemeanor counts of bail jumping tied to prior convictions from 2021, 2022 and 2023, per the same account. Both men are being held on $20,000 cash bonds.
Under Wisconsin law, an armed carjacking involving a dangerous weapon and the use or threat of force is a Class B felony, meaning Franklin could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted, according to Criminal Defense Lawyer. The robbery charge is codified under Wisconsin Statute § 943.32(2) as a Class C felony carrying up to 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, as detailed by the Van Severen Law Office. The armed burglary charge, filed under Wisconsin Statute § 943.10(2)(a), is a Class E felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Bail Jumping Adds to Swan's Legal Exposure
Swan's five misdemeanor bail jumping counts stem from a separate legal mechanism under Wisconsin Statute § 946.49, which treats violations of release conditions as their own criminal charges. According to the Stangl Law Offices, misdemeanor-based bail jumping can carry up to 9 months in jail per count, while felony-based violations can add up to 6 years in prison. That means Swan's overall exposure compounds well beyond the underlying carjacking and robbery counts tied to the Shirland Avenue incident.
A defendant sharing the name Kerrick Franklin was previously sentenced under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act following prior Wisconsin violent felony convictions, including armed burglary in 1994 and burglaries in 2001 and 2003, according to a 2018 U.S. Court of Appeals decision published by FindLaw Caselaw. The dossier does not confirm whether this is the same individual charged in the current Beloit case.
Stolen SUV Turns Up in Historic Beloit Park
Investigators recovered the stolen Chevrolet Equinox at Horace White Park, a location layered with local history. The park is Beloit's central square, platted in 1837 and named for Dr. Horace White, a founding city pioneer, and his son Horace White Jr., a newspaper editor who covered the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates alongside Abraham Lincoln, according to the Beloit Historical Society. Before it became a public square, the same ground served as Beloit's original city cemetery from 1837 until 1840, when graves were relocated to Oakwood Cemetery.
The case arrives amid broader concern about violent crime in Beloit. A statewide crime data analysis published in April ranked Beloit second in Wisconsin for violent crime rate, with 412 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents based on 2025 FBI and state reporting, trailing only Milwaukee, according to Reolink. That figure stands in some tension with the Beloit Police Department's 2023 annual report, which highlighted an overall decrease in citywide crime rates and traffic accidents compared to previous years, per the City of Beloit.
Franklin and Swan are scheduled for preliminary hearings Monday in Rock County Circuit Court, where prosecutors are expected to lay out further evidence in the case.
