Quincy Reid

MILWAUKEE — A 34-year-old man has been charged in connection with a 2002 cold case homicide that happened near 6th and Burleigh in Milwaukee. According to prosecutors, DNA evidence from a baseball cap recovered from the suspect vehicle, along with eyewitness interviews, led police to the suspect.

Antonio Johnson faces one count of first degree intentional homicide, as party to a crime, use of a dangerous weapon, in connection with the crime that happened on July 2, 2002.

Police responded around midnight and found Quincy Reid, 21, lying in the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of apparent gunshot wounds. An autopsy revealed he was shot five times, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Courtnee Patterson

Courtnee Patterson, Reid’s sister, was 11 years old at the time, and sought justice for more than 16 years. She told FOX6 News she “never gave up hope” her brother’s killer would be found.

“The day that he was killed, I remember getting woken up by my mom. She was crying, hysterical, telling us to put on clothes. I’m just glad that they got him finally. I felt like it’s a chapter closed, but I’ll never stop grieving. I’ll always grieve over him,” said Patterson.

According to a criminal complaint, five .22 caliber casings were found at the scene and determined to have been fired from the same .22 caliber firearm.

The complaint said police spoke with an eyewitness between July of 2002 and November of 2008, and that eyewitness “provided substantially consistent accounts of what he observed.”

He said Reid, the victim in this case, was a friend. He said Reid was standing on a porch near a house when a tan and brown Cadillac with four people inside parked in front of the address next to where Reid was standing. The complaint said he was able to provide descriptions of the vehicle’s occupants, and he identified a photo of the vehicle as the one he saw early that morning.

That Cadillac was recovered less than 24 hours after the homicide near 54th and Beloit. A baseball cap was collected as evidence.

The eyewitness told investigators after the Cadillac pulled up at the scene, he heard Reid arguing with one of the people near the Cadillac, while the driver and a female passenger went into a house nearby. The third passenger was sitting on the hood, while the fourth argued with the victim. Eventually, the eyewitness said Reid walked away, and the driver and passengers got back into the Cadillac. The eyewitness said he believed he saw the Cadillac driving through an alley. As he and Reid walked on 6th Street, they saw one of the people who had been in the Cadillac, who was wearing a baseball cap when they first arrived, come back through between the houses near where the victim ended up shot. This person was no longer wearing the baseball cap. He said Reid walked up to this person, and he saw that the suspect was armed with a handgun. He said the suspect fired shots at Reid, and Reid put his hands up and said something to the shooter. The eyewitness said he turned and ran, and saw Reid fall to the pavement. He said the suspects ran back into the gangway from where they had come.

The eyewitness said he ran to a nearby lounge to call police. When he got there, he saw the Cadillac driving in the direction where Reid was found lying in the street. He said the Cadillac stopped in the roadway for a second, and he ran into the tavern — telling those inside to call police.

Quincy Reid

According to the complaint, the witness was shown a baseball cap seized from the Cadillac, and indicated “it looked similar to” what he remembered seeing the shooter wearing. The complaint said he indicated Johnson “looked like the person he saw kill (his friend), but he was not in a position to be 100 percent positive, given the amount of time that had passed.”

A second eyewitness was also interviewed between July of 2002 and November of 2008. This witness said he was with Johnson shortly before this incident — telling police Johnson was an acquaintance from Chicago. He said shortly before the homicide, he was moving into his cousin’s home and drove his girlfriend’s mother’s Cadillac to the location. Johnson and another person were in the back, and the witness and his girlfriend were in the front.

This witness said when they pulled up in front of the home, they encountered Reid, and he “recalled words being exchanged.” According to the complaint, he said Reid “was questioning his and his associates’ right to be in that neighborhood.” He said he ignored Reid and went about his business, taking items into the home with his girlfriend — leaving Johnson and the fourth person at the Cadillac. He said eventually they all got back into the Cadillac and drove off, when Johnson said, “I want to go by the tough guy.” Johnson and the fourth person were let out of the vehicle — and they headed toward Reid, the witness said.

He said Johnson and the fourth person eventually got back into the Cadillac, and when he asked them what happened, the fourth person said to Johnson, “Why did you do that?” Johnson responded, “Dude had a gun.” The witness said Johnson told him he shot Reid, and he said he saw Johnson with a pistol he believed to be a .22 or .25. The witness said he dropped the Cadillac off at his girlfriend’s mom’s “as he did not want to be seen in the vehicle.” He said Johnson and the fourth person took a Greyhound “back to Chicago.”

This witness told investigators Johnson was wearing a baseball cap and positively identified the cap recovered by police from the Cadillac as the cap Johnson was wearing around the time the victim was killed.

Additionally, the complaint said DNA analysis of the baseball cap revealed it had been worn by Johnson.

The complaint said police interviewed Johnson in prison in 2008 and he denied being involved in the homicide. He denied knowing the second eyewitness and denied ever being in Milwaukee. When confronted about the DNA evidence, Johnson said, “It must be a mistake.” The complaint noted he did indicate he typically carried a .22 caliber firearm.

Johnson is serving time for a different crime at an Iowa prison. It’s unclear when he’ll come to Wisconsin to face charges in Reid’s death.