Milwaukee man, 42, charged with killing activist 'Rozz' Rogers as she ran from him
Prosecutors charged a Milwaukee man with killing local activist Rosalind Rogers with one gunshot to the head as she ran from him through the parking lot of a north side McDonald's, according to a criminal complaint.
Raymond Lee Willis, 42, was charged with first degree reckless homicide.
The incident took place on June 13 around 4 a.m. in the 5100 block of North Teutonia Avenue. Rogers, 23, who went by the name "Rozz" was pronounced dead at the scene.
Video was recovered from the McDonald's restaurant showing Rogers walking east on W. Villard Ave. around 3:45 a.m. when she was approached by a red vehicle. Rogers ran away from the vehicle, then flashes "consistent with muzzle flashes" appeared from the driver's area of the vehicle. Rogers fell in the McDonald's parking lot as the vehicle drove away. Police arrived at the scene around 3:50 a.m.
An autopsy revealed Rogers was shot in the back of the head.
The owner of a nearby apartment building identified the red vehicle in the video as belonging to Willis, one of his tenants. Another tenant initially denied recognizing the vehicle, but later concurred that it belonged to Willis.
According to the complaint, surveillance footage from a pole camera located at the intersection of Teutonia and Villard captured a vehicle turning west on Villard moments before Rogers' death. Police interviewed Willis, and he admitted that the vehicle looked like his car, but said he sold his vehicle either June 13 or 14.
Willis was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the fatal shooting on June 13. He has a previous felony conviction for delivering cocaine that bars him from owning or possessing a gun.
Rogers is remembered as an activist who raised objections about the treatment of Black people by law enforcement. She frequented community engagement events and mentored young people.
"None of this is adding up. Like what could she have possibly done? So absolutely we want justice," said Dee-Dee Davis, who knew Rogers through a Black activist group called ComForce MKE. "This is not something that is going to go by the wayside. It'll be the same way she stood up and fought for other people in this community."
Rogers graduated from Milwaukee's Assata High School after also attending Messmer High School.
Fifty-eight homicides have been reported in Milwaukee so far this year, compared with 69 reported in the same period last year, according to Milwaukee Police Department statistics.
Willis is being held in Milwaukee County Jail on $200,000 and is scheduled to be back in court July 2 for a preliminary hearing.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man charged with killing activist Rogers as she ran from him
