A 20-year-old Milwaukee man armed with a butcher knife chased a woman and a girl through a home near 34th and Lloyd late last year, sending the girl leaping from a second-floor window to escape him — and this week, a judge decided he won't spend a day behind bars for it. Keyonte Ambrose was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to armed burglary, with the one-year jail term a Milwaukee County judge initially imposed instead stayed entirely.
The case began in December 2025, when Milwaukee police responded to the area of 34th and Lloyd Street for a reported home invasion, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee. A woman living at the residence told investigators she woke to the front door opening, footsteps, and a loud voice, according to the criminal complaint. She said the door had been left unlocked so children could get in after school, per the same complaint. The location sits on Milwaukee's Near North Side along the border of the Washington Park and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods, within Milwaukee Police Department District 3, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A Chase, a Window Jump, and a Ransom Demand
Ambrose, dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and armed with a large knife, chased the woman and a girl down an alley, the station's report states. He stopped only after the two split up and fled in opposite directions. During the chase, a caller reported seeing a young girl leaning out of a window and yelling for help; the girl ultimately jumped from the second-floor window to escape him.
The woman identified the intruder as Ambrose, per the criminal complaint. She later found her house in disarray and, according to court filings, reported three laptops missing along with $4,000 stolen from her purse. Police say Ambrose allegedly confessed to stealing the laptops and the cash, claiming the theft was a ransom over a perceived debt.
Fleeing Scene Led to a Suburban Traffic Stop
Ambrose left the scene as police were approaching, per the complaint, but a caller and another person reportedly saw him return to the scene in a small black SUV. Investigators later found a black SUV with Illinois license plates linked to the case, per court filings, and officials used the license plate to identify the vehicle. The SUV turned up roughly 15 miles south of the crime scene, located at the Amazon facility in Oak Creek — a jump made possible in part by automated license plate reader networks that Milwaukee-area departments share, as detailed in Hoodline’s coverage of a separate cross-jurisdiction stop this week.
Oak Creek police conducted a traffic stop of the black SUV and identified Ambrose as the driver. Investigators separately reviewed body-worn camera video from the first responding officers, and a caller told detectives he had seen a butcher knife on the sidewalk near the scene, per the complaint.
Guilty Plea Follows Months of Not-Guilty Stance
Ambrose was originally charged with disorderly conduct in addition to the burglary count. He entered a not-guilty plea at his initial court appearance on December 26, 2025, before reaching a plea agreement seven months later in July 2026. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of armed burglary, and the disorderly conduct charge was dismissed and read in as part of the negotiation — a mechanism under Wisconsin law that lets a judge weigh unconvicted conduct during sentencing without it becoming a separate conviction.
Under Wisconsin Statute § 943.10(2), armed burglary — entering a dwelling without consent while armed with a dangerous weapon — is a Class C felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, since carrying a weapon such as a butcher knife elevates what would otherwise be a lesser burglary charge, according to the Van Severen Law Office.
Judge Stays Jail Time for Two Years of Probation
Presiding Judge Jack Dávila initially sentenced Ambrose to one year at the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center — the state's largest county correctional facility, located in Franklin and formerly known as the Milwaukee County House of Correction, per Milwaukee County government. Dávila then stayed that jail term, instead placing Ambrose on two years of probation. Dávila was appointed to Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 1 in April 2020 by Governor Tony Evers; he is a U.S. Army veteran, a Marquette University Law School graduate, and a former Milwaukee labor and personal injury attorney, according to WisPolitics.
High school athletic recruiting records show Ambrose graduated in 2023 from Holy Redeemer Christian Academy in Milwaukee, where he played basketball and football as a power forward and defensive lineman, per NCSA Sports recruiting listings.
How This Fits Milwaukee's 2026 Crime Trends
The sentencing arrives as Milwaukee's overall violent crime numbers move in a different direction than property crime. Midyear data released by the Milwaukee Police Department showed homicides and non-fatal shootings fell 28 percent through early July 2026 compared to the same period the year before, while property theft cases ticked up 3 percent, a snapshot Hoodline reported was presented by Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman.
