A teen charged in the 2021 shooting death of Purcell Pearson receives a 9-year prison sentence

Elliot Hughes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
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Purcell Pearson died in a shooting in Milwaukee at 22. He was a well-loved student at UW-Whitewater and Milwaukee entrepreneur.
Purcell Pearson died in a shooting in Milwaukee at 22. He was a well-loved student at UW-Whitewater and Milwaukee entrepreneur.

One of two teens charged in the shooting death of Purcell A. Pearson received a nine-year prison sentence Thursday.

Pearson, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, was a popular student leader on campus who wanted to serve low-income, diverse neighborhoods as a psychiatrist. He also demonstrated an interest in dismantling stereotypes surrounding Black men and their overrepresentation as criminals in news media.

He was killed in February 2021 during an attempted robbery of the designer eyeglasses he had been selling for several months by finding customers online and meeting up for in-person transactions, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.

That led Pearson to a meeting with Tyrell D. Joseph and Ismael E. Moreno, both now 18, who contacted Pearson online through a fake name, the complaint said. The three met in the 2200 block of West Wisconsin Avenue outside Pearson’s apartment, where the shooting unfolded.

Joseph, who was sentenced Thursday, was arrested in July, while Moreno remains at large. After his prison term, Joseph will spend another six years in extended supervision.

More: Another record-breaking year of homicides ends with 197 lives lost in Milwaukee

Joseph and Moreno were both charged with first-degree reckless homicide, party to a crime, but Joseph reached a deal with prosecutors in January that lowered his charge to second-degree reckless homicide in exchange for a guilty plea.

Joseph faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge J.D. Watts presided over the case.

As a student, Pearson served as the chapter president of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically Black fraternity, and helped secure a liaison position with campus police to represent the concerns of Black students, according to a university profile of him. He was crowned homecoming king at the school in 2019.

At the time of his death, Pearson was working on applications to graduate school and was exploring several entrepreneurial endeavors, including a skincare business, called Pyour, which he founded with his cousin, Essence Truth.

A scholarship fund at UW-Whitewater, called the Purcell Alex Pearson Achievement Scholarship, was created after his death. Donations can be made to the fund at the UW-Whitewater Foundation webpage.

Pearson is also the nephew of Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer.

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee teen gets 9 years in 2021 Purcell Pearson shooting death