Pizza receipt leads to arrest of 12-year-old accused of killing neighbor to steal his guns

A Domino's receipt led to the arrest of a 12-year-old boy in Wisconsin who is accused of killing his adult neighbor for his guns, according to court records.

The name of the minor, who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, was redacted in a criminal complaint from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

The complaint said the minor allegedly killed Brandon Felton, 34, on March 15, at Felton’s home. The boy was neighbors with Felton, and the two played video games together, the complaint said.

Authorities found Felton dead in a puddle of blood March 18. An autopsy determined he was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, the complaint said.

Felton’s cousin discovered his body after he went to Felton’s home because he had not heard from him for days, the complaint said.

A receipt for a pizza delivery order was found near a spent shell casing, the complaint said.

“Police located a receipt in the living room on an end table (the same end table where the aforementioned casing was found). That receipt was for a ‘Domino’s Pizza’ order which showed an order for food was placed by ‘Brandy,’” the complaint said.

The delivery receipt listed a phone number.

A detective, according to the complaint, called the phone number on the receipt, which was answered by a “young-sounding male,” the complaint said. The person who picked up denied knowing someone named Brandy and hung up, the complaint said.

The boy's mother took him to speak with police March 18, the complaint said. The boy said he heard about Felton’s death from his grandmother. The boy said that the phone was his and that no one had used it or borrowed it.

The boy’s account, according to the complaint, changed several times.

“The defendant then continuously stated that he did not order food that night and has never ordered food from Felton’s house. He claimed he had no idea about the pizza and that Felton never used his phone to order food,” the complaint said. “The Defendant was then shown the receipt that was recovered from Felton’s residence and was asked if he knew what happened to Felton. The Defendant replied he did not know, then was told that Felton was killed. The Defendant then stated he did not know about that (despite earlier indicating that his grandma informed him about what happened to Felton).”

The boy admitted he was at Felton’s home when the man was killed, with a friend of Felton’s who he said shot the victim in the back of the head, the complaint said. The boy said Felton’s friend, after having shot him, went to Felton’s bedroom and took an AR-15 and a shotgun.

The boy’s mother, according to the complaint, told police her son had lied to investigators.

“He and his friends went to Felton’s residence to buy Felton’s guns. Felton was not going to sell the guns and then the Defendant and his friends went to Felton’s to take the guns,” the complaint said.

Attorney Katie Holtz, who is representing the child, declined to directly comment about the case over email Wednesday.

However, when she was asked whether the child is being tried as an adult, Holtz wrote: “In Wisconsin, any child charged with a homicide of this classification, if the child is over the age of 10, starts out being charged as an adult and then can ask the court to transfer their case back to juvenile court jurisdiction.”

Additional court records indicate that a $100,000 bond was set Monday.

In a search with a warrant for the boy’s phone, detectives discovered incriminating text messages sent March 9, the complaint said.

“In those messages, the Defendant states that he has a 'play,' which Complainant knows is a slang term for a robbery. The Defendant then indicates the 'play' is for a shotgun and a 'chop' which Complainant knows is a slang term for an AR-15 style rifle,” the complaint said.

Other text messages from the boy’s phone on March 15 said: “I’m gonna do it to Brandan” and “Or should I kill him rm,” which was a typo for “right now,” the affidavit said.

It was not clear Wednesday whether anyone else has been charged in the case.

Felton's relatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com