Man charged in New Year's Eve robberies that happened before deadly KK River crash
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Charges have been filed against a third suspect in a robbery and attempted robbery that led to a deadly New Year's Eve crash in Milwaukee's Kinnickinnic River.
Andre Dyson, 20, has been charged with armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, and first degree recklessly endangering safety.
Investigators say Dyson was with Shannon Nehmer and Charles Barefield during an armed robbery and an attempted robbery before the deadly chase. Nehmer's 2-year-old daughter Annamelia Hernandez was also in the car when the crimes were committed, according to police.
The first robbery happened around 7:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve when a man who was checking fluids under his car was approached by two men and a woman who had climbed out of a black Chevy Trailblazer. The man told police they demanded money at gunpoint and he was hit in the face by a woman before his phone was taken.
About 25 minutes later, a man and a woman said they were attacked by three people who tried to rob them. The woman told investigators Dyson pushed her down and stomped on her face multiple times. A husband and wife who saw what was happening ran out to help. The wife grabbed a machete and started swinging it at the suspects.
The wife told police a man, believed to be Dyson, started running and then turned and shot at her multiple times.
Investigators say during a statement to police, Dyson eventually admitted to being with Barefield and Nehmer during the robbery and attempted robbery but denied being armed.
Dyson says he was not in the SUV when it crashed because he got spooked after a witness fired a gun during the armed robbery. Dyson told police he wasn't sure why Nehmer had her daughter in the car with her during the robberies and didn't like getting in the car with Nehmer and Barefield because he knew they committed robberies and didn't like the idea of doing that with the child present. He told police that he should have tried to stop Nehmer and Barefield or left them when he knew they planned to commit the robberies but he was "homeless and it was cold outside" so he stayed with them.
Police say they interviewed a woman who said she spoke to Nehmer shortly after 8:00 p.m., before the pursuit. The woman told police Nehmer said she was involved in a "robbery that went bad" and was angry because Dyson was supposed to grab her child but didn't and ran off.
Barefield, Nehmer, and Nehmer's 2-year-old daughter drowned after the vehicle they were in crashed into the KK River. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office also says Nehmer was several weeks pregnant.