Lawyer: Suspect in Kenosha bar shooting feared for safety

Updated: 7:52 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2022

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A lawyer for a man charged with killing three people and wounding three others in an April shooting at a crowded bar in Wisconsin says his client wasn't the one looking for trouble.

Twenty-five-year-old Rakayo Vinson is accused in the deaths of 24-year-old Cedric Gaston; 26-year-old Atkeem Stevenson; and 22-year-old Kevin Donaldson, all of Kenosha.

A criminal complaint said surveillance video shows Vinson walking to the patio of the Somers House Tavern in the village of Somers and opening fire before fleeing.

Vinson's attorney, Donald Bielski, told the jury during opening statements that he plans to play a 25-minute video showing that the three victims were the ones seeking conflict.

Prosecutor Michael Graveley says all evidence points to Vinson's guilt.

Posted: 1:35 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2022

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A jury has been selected in Kenosha County Circuit Court to hear the case against a man charged with killing three people and wounding three others in a shooting at a crowded bar.

Twenty-five-year-old Rakayo Vinson is facing three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the April 18 shooting at Somers House Tavern in the village of Somers.

Opening statements are expected Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint, Vinson got in a fight at the bar and he was injured. Surveillance video shows him walking to the bar's patio and opening fire before fleeing.

Killed were 24-year-old Cedric Gaston; 26-year-old Atkeem Stevenson; and 22-year-old Kevin Donaldson, all of Kenosha.