MILWAUKEE — Jose Davila-Gali is facing one count of first-degree intentional homicide after prosecutors say he shot a vehicle 42 times while someone was in it, killing the victim and leaving them with 80 gunshot wounds.
Davila-Gali has been charged with first degree intentional homicide in connection to a fatal shooting that happened near 19th and Lincoln on Saturday, May 14. An autopsy revealed the victim suffered 80 gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.
According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, a detective responded to the scene investigation on Sunday, May 15, noting a car with at least 42 bullet strikes. Forty-eight 9mm casings were surrounding the vehicle.
A witness told a detective she was leaving a bar with the victim and that he got into her car. According to the complaint, the witness said a man walked up to the car and immediately began shooting into it. She said the man reloaded with a second magazine in between some of the shots.
Another witness said he saw a person prior to the homicide attempt to conceal himself east of 19th and Lincoln. The witness said he saw people leaving the bar and the defendant run towards the car and begin shooting at it, according to the complaint.
According to surveillance video, a vehicle was seen circling the block near 19th and Lincoln around 2:15 a.m. The complaint says the vehicle is consistent with one Davila-Gali was later caught driving.
On June 1 at 5:41 p.m., a police officer saw Davila-Gali driving in the 1200 block of W. Lincoln Ave. The complaint says after he pumped gas, he noticed officers watching him. The complaint says that is when Davila-Gali began to drive away at a high rate of speed and a police pursuit began. The complaint says the chase lasted five minutes and covered two miles.
The officer noted that during the chase, Davila-Gali disregarded 12 different stop sign, one red light, and nearly struck three separate pedestrians, according to the complaint.
Davila-Gali stopped and surrendered near 17th and Becher. Police arrested him and his pregnant front seat passenger. The complaint says the passenger had a loaded handgun in her purse. An analyst concluded the handgun was the same weapon used in the homicide.
The vehicle the two were occupying was also stolen on May 7, the complaint says. In an interview with a detective, Davila-Gali said he did not know the vehicle was stolen, but that he had to start it with a screwdriver.
Photos obtained by a cell phone from the vehicle show Davila-Gali holding the recovered firearm, the complaint says.
Davila-Gali told a detective that on the day of the homicide, "a man he only knew by first name met him at a place and time he could not remember and asked to borrow his truck and his firearm, which he gave the man. The defendant claimed that the man returned the truck and firearm May 15, maybe in the morning," according to the complaint.
Davila-Gali made his initial appearance in court on Tuesday and cash bond was set at $750,000. He will return to court for a preliminary hearing on June 16.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 28-year-old Juan Luis Estela Ortiz.
