Milwaukee man who purported to recover stolen cars charged in connection with shooting that paralyzed teen

A Milwaukee man who promoted himself in multiple TV interviews as someone who recovers stolen cars has been charged in connection with a shooting last week that left a 17-year-old basketball player partially paralyzed, according to her family members and prosecutors. 

Jerod D. Brumfield, 35, was charged with six felonies in Milwaukee County Circuit Court over the weekend: two counts of first-degree reckless injury, three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.  

Brumfield was being held Monday at the Milwaukee County Jail on $150,000 bail.

The shooting took place about 10:30 p.m. July 27 in the 2400 block of West Locust Street. Two teenagers, ages 17 and 19, suffered nonfatal gunshot injuries in a road-rage incident, according to a release from the Milwaukee Police Department.

Family members say Toniah Williams, 17, was shot in the back while riding in the back seat of a car. They said the bullet went through the trunk and the back seat before hitting her.

Timothy Gibbs told the Journal Sentinel he was in the car with Williams, his sister, along with three others. He said they were chased for several minutes by someone in another vehicle who repeatedly rammed into the back of their car.

Gibbs said two shots were fired toward them. 

The 19-year-old who was injured was shot in the hand, family members said.

Family members say some of the people in the car recognized the pursuer as Brumfield.

Williams was at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa on Saturday, family members said. Her aunt, Myshell Prescott, said she is paralyzed from about the waist down and has a long recovery ahead of her.

"My niece is fighting for her life," Prescott said. "She will probably never be the same."

Williams was a basketball player at the Milwaukee Academy of Science, who as a freshman, helped propel the underdog girls basketball team to the state tournament two years ago, alongside then-senior Shemera Williams.

"Toniah has been robbed. She's been robbed of her career," Prescott said.

Her mom said it was her dream to be in the WNBA.

"She's a star basketball player," said Prescott, who calls Williams her favorite niece. "She's the best in Wisconsin to me, and that's what a lot of people know her for."

Brumfield, who uses the name Ace Smith, has given multiple TV interviews promoting himself as someone who recovers stolen vehicles.

Brumfield started a GoFundMe account in May asking for money to fund his operation. It raised $100.

Brumfield has been convicted of multiple traffic violations in municipal and county courts, including several instances of operating a vehicle after suspension, according to online court records.

Williams' mother questioned Brumfield's tactics and said she wanted police to look more seriously into his operation.

"He turned our city into the Wild West," said Williams' mother, Deedee Rogers. "They (the police) didn't stop him."

Other media outlets have cited the police in saying that the car in which Williams was a passenger was not stolen.

Prescott wants her niece's shooter to know that a lot of people were hurt when they pulled the trigger.

"Why is a gun the very first thing that they grab?" she said. "Life will never be the same for us."

Williams' mother said the teen keeps asking "why me?" She and Prescott try to remind her to trust in God and that He will make a way for her.

Ashley Luthern, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff, contributed to this report.

Sarah Volpenhein is a Report for America corps reporter who focuses on news of value to underserved communities for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Email her at svolpenhei@gannett.com. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at JSOnline.com/RFA.