MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee man was charged with first-degree reckless homicide in a cold case killing of a Milwaukee shop owner in 2012.
Donald D. Moore is facing first-degree reckless homicide - as a party to a crime, habitual criminal repeater, use of a dangerous weapon. If found guilty, Moore could spend up to 71 years in prison.
A criminal complaint released Thursday states Milwaukee police responded to Zara Food Market at 1955 N. 32nd St. on the evening of Dec. 28, 2012. There, they found Fawzi "Fred" Abu-Hamdan behind the store counter, on his knees with his back against a rolling chair. Police attempted to save him, but Abu-Hamdan died from injuries.
The Medical Examiner's Office concluded then the victim died from a single gunshot wound that entered his hand and into his chest. They ruled the death a homicide.
Surveillance video at Zara Food Market identified two suspects. One suspect entered the shop and headed to the back, while the second suspect entered the store, fired a gunshot into the ceiling and turned towards the victim. The suspect then fired a second shot into the victim, the complaint states. The two suspects then left on foot.
The video also showed two women and a 7-year-old child standing mere feet away from the homicide, according to prosecutors.
The next year, a confidential witness told police that he was aware of the identity of the shooter. He told officers he was at the home of a person known as "Duck," who asked for help in a robbery. The witness declined, prosecutors state.
The confidential witness says about 45 minutes later, "Duck" returned to the home, "out of breath" and said he just shot the owner of the store by accident during a robbery, the complaint states.
The suspect said he shot the owner because the owner was going for his gun. The suspect was carrying a .22 pistol when he returned to the residence, the confidential witness told prosecutors.
The case went cold for the next seven years.
Then in November of 2020, a second confidential witness told Milwaukee police he was aware of the homicide and the two suspects involved, Moore and another man "Kendell." That witness said Moore also asked him for help robbing a store, but the witness declined, the complaint states.
The witness continues that "Kendell" and Moore went along with the robbery. "Kendell" went into the store first and pretended to be a customer, and was followed by Moore, who fired the gunshot into the ceiling, according to prosecutors.
The confidential witness told investigators that the store owner, Fawzi Abu-Hamdan, appeared to be getting his weapon. That's when the defendant opened fire again, the complaint states.
On Feb. 26, 2021, an initial witness of the homicide was able to confirm a photo of Moore as the suspect who opened fire. "She stated that trauma is probably why she is able to remember what the Defendant looks like so well, because the shooting had such a huge effect on her," according to the criminal complaint.
On March 2, 2021, another witness too confirmed the suspect's identity via a photo, prosecutors say.
