Isaiah Wheeler shot a Milwaukee man for stepping in when he fought his girlfriend. That got him 30 years in prison
Isaiah Wheeler will be off the streets for more than three decades for gunning down a motorist who intervened during a fight between Wheeler and his girlfriend in Milwaukee.
A jury in August convicted Wheeler, 19, of second-degree intentional homicide in the Jan. 26, 2022, death of Dwayne Johnson, Sr., 56, of Milwaukee.
What was his sentence?
Wheeler must serve 30 years behind bars on that charge, along with 10 years of extended supervision once he is released, online court records show. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Mark A. Sanders handed down the sentence Monday.
Wheeler was 17 at the time of the killing. Jurors also found him guilty of being in possession of a firearm in violation of an earlier juvenile court conviction. He will serve a four-year prison term on that charge, along with five years of extended supervision.
Sanders ordered Wheeler's sentences to run consecutively.
Prosecutors believe Johnson was driving by and intervened during a dispute between Wheeler and his girlfriend on the 5400 block of North 72nd Street.
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What evidence was presented at trial against Isaiah Wheeler?
Video captured by a neighbor's front-porch camera showed footage of Wheeler and the mother of his child walking in the snow. The two had earlier been in a vehicle driven by Wheeler's mother.
Wheeler's mother kicked the woman out of the vehicle and Wheeler pursued her.
Once he caught up to her, they argued as well, attracting the attention of other motorists.
One of them was Johnson, who was seen in the video getting out of his truck and motioning toward the pair. Eventually, Johnson steps between Moore and Wheeler.
Johnson was shot six times. Four of the shots hit Johnson as he lay on the ground, the medical examiner testified.
What was Isaiah Wheeler's defense?
At one point during his trial, Wheeler claimed he was defending himself, that he opened fire on Johnson, a stranger who towered over and outweighed him.
"I thought he was gonna shoot me," Wheeler told jurors from the witness stand. "I believed he was going to kill me."
A total of 390 days that Wheeler has spent in custody will be applied to his sentence.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man gets prison sentence for fatally shooting good Samaritan
