Jaquinn P. Pruitt, 37, is charged with felony murder as a party to a crime, with a habitual criminality repeater enhancement, in connection with the Sept. 17 death of Timothy D. Lewis. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison, with an additional six years possible under the repeater allegation.

According to an amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday, Milwaukee police responded to the 2500 block of North Pierce Street shortly after 8:44 p.m. Sept. 17 after receiving two 911 calls reporting gunfire.

Officers found Lewis lying near the curb. Police and Milwaukee Fire Department personnel attempted lifesaving measures, but Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene around 9:15 p.m.

Two witnesses told investigators they saw Lewis running west through the area while being chased by another person.

One witness told police Lewis ran across North Pierce Street and put his hands up while the armed person continued chasing him. The witness said Lewis was then shot from point-blank range before the witness ran inside and heard a second gunshot.

Investigators recovered three 9 mm cartridge casings from the roadway. A preliminary examination determined the casings had been fired from two different guns, according to the complaint.

Police said Lewis did not have a weapon when officers found him.

Investigators also found a container of chicken wings near the scene. Police said surveillance video showed Lewis carrying the food along with a black cross-body bag shortly before the shooting, but the bag was no longer with him when officers arrived.

According to the complaint, investigators reviewed surveillance footage from several locations in the neighborhood to reconstruct Lewis' movements before his death.

Video showed Lewis leaving Club99 near North Pierce and East Clarke streets around 8:04 p.m. while carrying the black bag. Investigators said he later went to Club Timbuktu before leaving around 8:36 p.m.

Around 8:41 p.m., surveillance footage showed Lewis walking south on North Pierce Street while appearing to eat from the food container.

The first 911 call reporting gunfire came approximately three minutes later.

Investigators also noticed a dark Lexus SUV repeatedly driving through the neighborhood. The vehicle passed Lewis shortly before the shooting, then entered an alley connecting North Pierce and North Fratney streets.

Surveillance video showed the Lexus leaving the alley around the time of the shooting or immediately afterward. According to the complaint, investigators did not see any other vehicles enter or leave the alley during the relevant time period.

Police used automated license plate reader information to identify the vehicle as a black 2021 Lexus UX.

The registered owner told detectives she was the mother of Pruitt's child and acknowledged that the Lexus in the surveillance images appeared to be her vehicle, according to the complaint.

After initially giving investigators conflicting information about who may have been driving the Lexus, the woman eventually said she believed Pruitt had the vehicle that night.

Police later searched the Lexus and found mail belonging to Pruitt inside, according to the complaint.

Investigators also obtained video from near the woman's home that showed the Lexus leaving around 5:58 p.m. and returning at 9:19 p.m., roughly 35 minutes after the first report of gunfire.

Phone records obtained by investigators showed Pruitt's phone using a cell tower in the Riverwest neighborhood at 8:23 p.m., less than a mile from the shooting scene, according to the complaint.

Pruitt was arrested Oct. 2 in Washington County and later interviewed twice by Milwaukee police.

During his first interview, prosecutors say Pruitt acknowledged driving the Lexus but initially denied knowing anything about Lewis' death.

Pruitt later told detectives he had parked the Lexus in an alley near East Wright Street because he needed to urinate, heard gunshots and then drove home.

During a second interview, however, prosecutors say Pruitt gave investigators a different account.

According to the complaint, Pruitt said he had picked up his cousin, who told him he wanted to rob someone.

Pruitt allegedly told investigators the two were driving on North Pierce Street when they saw Lewis. His cousin allegedly told Pruitt he planned to rob Lewis and directed Pruitt to drive into the alley.

Pruitt told police he drove into the alley and let his cousin out of the vehicle to commit the robbery, according to the complaint.

Pruitt said his cousin was carrying a black Glock that he believed was a 9 mm handgun.

According to the complaint, Pruitt said his cousin later returned to the Lexus with a second, silver-colored handgun and a black cross-body bag that Pruitt believed belonged to Lewis.

Members of Lewis' family later told investigators that Lewis was known to carry a silver handgun.

Pruitt told detectives his cousin admitted robbing someone but did not tell him he had shot the person, according to the complaint.

Pruitt allegedly told investigators he drove away through the alley and eventually dropped his cousin off near North 91st Street and West Brown Deer Road.

He said he later began receiving calls informing him that Lewis had been shot.

An autopsy determined Lewis suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide.

The complaint also alleges Pruitt qualifies as a repeat offender because of previous felony convictions, including a 2008 conviction for second-degree reckless homicide with use of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Pruitt was released to extended supervision in September 2022, according to the complaint.