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Three Milwaukee teenagers convicted in murder of aspiring pilot and pizza delivery driver

by November 8, 2024

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, about 580,000 people in the United States hold pilot licenses, and Antoine Gee Jr. was training to become one of them.

He made ends meet by delivering pizzas until he could get his wings.

Gee wouldn’t get the chance to feel the controls of an airplane in his hands or the excitement of successfully recording his first solo flight in a logbook.

Two of the three Milwaukee teenagers charged in Gee’s death while delivering pizza for Domino’s in a botched robbery earlier this year were in court Thursday to hear their verdicts.

More: According to the complaint, her boyfriend shot UW-Whitewater gymnast Kara Welsh eight times.

Antoine Gee Jr. was the “backbone” of his family

Armier McArthur and Keyshaun McNealy, both 18, each pleaded guilty in September to Gee’s Jan. 10 murder.

McArthur and McNealy were each sentenced to 17 years in prison in separate hearings on Thursday. They were also placed on six years of extended supervision upon their release.

A third man, Damain N. Patrick, 18, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty in September. He was also sentenced to 17 years in prison and six years of extended supervision.

All three were 17 years old at the time of the murder.

“To the media, he was just a pizza delivery guy,” said Gee’s cousin, Simyra Robinson. “But for his family he was the backbone.”

More: An 18-year-old Chicago man has been found guilty of killing a man in the parking lot of a Milwaukee Taco Bell during a botched carjacking

The family wanted more prison sentences for the teenagers who confessed to being involved in the murder

It took up to 55 years for McNealy, Patrick and McArthur to reach their agreement.

Robinson and other members of Gee’s family expressed frustration with the plea agreement. They wanted the case to go to trial, so a longer sentence would have been possible if convicted.

“I just want my son back,” Patrice Toliver said, sobbing. “I want them (teens) to know that they kidnapped my baby… and how much pain they caused.”

More: Unlicensed hotel valet from Milwaukee is sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatal stolen car crash

That’s what happened, according to prosecutor Antoine Gee Jr.

Milwaukee police discovered Gee dead in the 4400 block of North Sherman Boulevard just after 10 p.m. According to a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, Gee suffered three gunshot wounds.

A witness told investigators he looked out her window after hearing gunshots and saw three young men running from the area, a criminal complaint states. She called the police when she spotted a person lying in the middle of the street.

Surveillance footage captured by a resident showed Gee interacting with two people. A third person remained several meters away.

At some point there was a fight between the two people and the third person ran away.

Two shots were initially fired, but the complaint states the third person returned and attacked Gee. Then more shots were fired.

Video later showed the three men running away, leaving Gee in the median of Sherman Boulevard.

The weapon used in the shooting was not recovered.

Milwaukee has recorded 116 murders this year as of Wednesday, the most recent figure provided by police on Friday. There have been 149 murders in Milwaukee at this point in 2023, 172 people were killed that year, and 187 murders at the same time the year before.

A total of 215 homicides were reported in Milwaukee in 2022.

More: Milwaukee teen charged with fatally shooting 12-year-old in face

Grieving family continues to grapple with loss of man they called ‘Bones’

Assistant District Attorney Paul Tiffin said that although it was unclear which of the three fired the shots that killed Gee, they all played a role in hatching the plan to order a pizza and rob the person who delivered it.

Robinson said Gee, who also went by the nickname “Bone,” was multi-dimensional, drove a truck and rented a handful of houses as a landlord to support his family.

He also actively read books about flying airplanes. He wanted to be in heaven.

“It was his dream. That’s what he wanted to do,” Robinson said. “But his life was stolen from us.”

More: He shot a Milwaukee man and then rammed an ambulance carrying another man. Now the murderer is going to prison.

At the sentencing, McNealy apologized to Gee’s family and said he felt he had failed his own loved ones. He claimed he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and pleaded with District Court Judge David Swanson to give him the opportunity to be there for his younger sister.

Defense attorney Michael Plaisted described his client as a “follower” during the crime and urged Swanson to consider a lighter sentence. He argued that McNealy shows the potential to be rehabilitated and lead a productive life after serving his time.

The judge said that while killing Gee may not have been the goal of the robbery, all three teenagers played an active role in the fatal outcome.

“He would have made a positive difference in our community,” Swanson said of Gee. “And you took him from us.”

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