Sunday night in Muskego, Wisconsin, a Facebook Marketplace sale near Thornapple Trail and Thornapple Court turned into gunfire when one of two buyers pulled a handgun and fired a single shot before the pair sped off with the stolen items. Police responded to the residential block shortly after 8:15 p.m., and while no one was hurt, the shooting kicked off a search that stretched into the following days and crossed into Milwaukee.
According to a report by Sam Schmitz for WISN-TV, the two suspects arrived at a home near the intersection intending to buy items listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They loaded the items into their car, and it was only then that one of the pair pulled out a handgun and fired a single shot before the two drove off with the stolen goods. Police have not said what was being sold, the outlet reported.
Milwaukee Pair Identified, Arrested Within Days
Police were called to the home near Thornapple Trail and Thornapple Court shortly after 8:15 p.m. Sunday, according to CBS 58, which identified the suspects as a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man, both from Milwaukee. Muskego police made the arrests over the following days with assistance from the Milwaukee Police Department, the station reported.
Officers also relied on unspecified law enforcement technological resources to track down the suspects, per the same report, though the specific tools were not detailed. Formal charges from the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office had not been announced as of this reporting, and no initial court appearance dates were publicly available. It also remains unclear whether the 17-year-old and 19-year-old are connected to any other Facebook Marketplace robberies in the Milwaukee area, and the 19-year-old suspect's identity has not been publicly released.
Armed Robbery Carries Up to 40 Years Under Wisconsin Law
Under Wisconsin Statute § 943.32(2), robbery committed with the use or threat of a dangerous weapon is classified as a Class C felony, according to Justia Law. That charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, including up to 25 years of initial confinement, plus fines as high as $100,000.
The Muskego case echoes a similar robbery Hoodline previously reported in nearby Brookfield, where two Milwaukee men were arrested in May after a Facebook Marketplace meetup for designer Cartier glasses turned into an armed robbery. Brookfield sits about 15 miles north of Muskego, and both suburbs fall within Waukesha County.
Police Departments Offer Safer Spots for Online Sales
Muskego, an estimated city of 25,745 residents according to World Population Review, has offered residents an alternative to meeting strangers at home for years. Since 2017, the Muskego Police Department has designated its station lobby at W182 S8200 Racine Avenue as an official 'Internet Purchase Exchange Location' equipped with video surveillance, according to Patch.
Neighboring Franklin's police department set up similarly monitored safe exchange parking stalls, Waukesha Now reported back in 2016. It's the latest case for a Muskego department that has also been untangling a $1,177 debit card fraud traced to a card left behind at a local Walmart.
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