Milwaukee woman charged in fatal shooting of 14-year-old appears in court
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee woman charged in the death of a 14-year-old boy appeared in court Wednesday morning, Aug. 21, for an initial appearance. Zariah Johnson, 22, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide and use of a dangerous weapon in the shooting death of 14-year-old Alijah Golden-Richmond.
The shooting happened the afternoon of Aug. 15 near 39th and Vliet.
Johnson says she observed the group of teens breaking her sister's car window near the front of their home on 37th street before she grabbed a handgun belonging to her mother and fired warning shots to scare them off.
The criminal complaint states that Johnson then got into a vehicle and began chasing the teens, continuing to fire shots at them. Golden-Richmond was shot in the back and died at a hospital from his injuries.
Johnson didn't show much expression during her initial court appearance as prosecutors detailed what happened that afternoon.
The state requested a high cash bail amount and said it would be in the best interest of the community for Johnson to remain in custody.
Johnson's public defender argued that other than a juvenile incident, she has no criminal record, is currently pregnant and is the primary guardian for two other children.
In a statement to detectives, Johnson said that she didn't intend to kill anyone, she only wanted to scare them. Five shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Investigators believe the group of teens were unarmed.
Cash bail was set at $150,000. If convicted Johnson faces up to 65 years in prison. Her next court appearance is set for Aug. 28 at 1:30.