Wanted man found hiding in Milwaukee attic arrested, accused of additional attacks while on the run

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Washington County Sheriff's Office says a wanted man was taken into custody Tuesday morning, Feb. 14, by the Milwaukee Police Department Task Force. 

The sheriff's office says Willie B. Johnson was wanted on numerous warrants for an alleged attack on a woman over a several-day period in December 2022 in the Town of Barton. 

They say Johnson had been released from prison on supervision weeks before the attack. 

While on the run in January, the sheriff's office says Johnson allegedly shot two people in a Milwaukee home -- both survived their wounds. Johnson is also accused of an aggravated domestic incident in Milwaukee that allegedly occurred while on the run in early February.

Officials say Johnson was found hiding in an attic at a Milwaukee residence Tuesday. 

He has been charged in Washington County Circuit Court with aggravated battery, mayhem, false imprisonment and strangulation, along with additional misdemeanor crimes. 

In a statement Tuesday, Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis said:

“This case was a priority because of the propensity of violence that Johnson has displayed his entire adult life as demonstrated by the fact that he was not even out of prison for a month when he began demonstrating his inability to function in society by committing heinous acts of violence. This man should not be out walking the streets of Washington County, the City of Milwaukee, or any other community. Sheriff investigators spent many hours in Milwaukee working hand in hand with our partners tracking Johnson down. I appreciate the efforts of the members of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Milwaukee Police Department. Their pursuit of this dangerous fugitive ended the string of violence.”