Man Shot, Killed Over Car Repair Job

MILWAUKEE, WI — One man is dead after and the shooter has been arrested after police say the two became embroiled in a dispute over a car repair job.

On June 8, officers were called to a shooting at the 3900 block of N. 19th St.

Upon arrival, officers found the victim kneeling in a flower bed, slumped over with his head towards the ground with apparent gunshot wounds to his head and chest.

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Officers would later learn that the victim had been the fearful target of suspect Clifford Gilbert of Milwaukee.

According to his criminal complaint, on the day of the shooting, Gilbert unexpectedly ran into the victim when he was on his way to his parents’ house. He confronted the victim about stealing car parts from a car repair job he did on Gilbert's car.

Gilbert said that he was carrying his gun in a holster on his side, and the victim rushed towards him with a screwdriver, and as he was turning to get away from the victim, he shot at him out of fear, his criminal complaint stated.

According to the criminal complaint, police spoke to the resident of one of the houses at the scene. He said he heard several shots and then heard a gurgling noise coming from the gangway; he looked there and saw the victim and called police.

The investigation led police to develop Gilbert as a suspect. On June 9, police contacted his family members. Gilbert turned himself into police three days later, according to his criminal complaint.

Detectives interviewed Gilbert with his attorney. He admitted shooting the victim, whom he knew personally. He said that over a year ago, he had done some work on Gilbert's car, and the victim had stolen parts from it.

According to the criminal complaint, Gilbert said that after the shooting, he got into his friend's car and drove away, telling Gilbert to get rid of the gun. He said that at one point he got out of the car and threw the gun and holster into a weedy area near a creek.

Police who investigated the crime scene reported that they did not find a screwdriver or any object that looked like a screwdriver in the area where the victim was shot.

Gilbert has been charged with First-Degree reckless homicide and faces up to 40 years behind bars.

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image via shutterstock