A receipt for a Domino’s pizza order led to the arrest of a 12-year-old boy in Wisconsin who allegedly killed his adult neighbor over his guns, according to court records.
The name of the juvenile defendant charged with first-degree intentional manslaughter was redacted in a criminal complaint obtained by NBC News Wednesday from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
The complaint says the juvenile allegedly killed 34-year-old Brandon Felton on March 15 at Felton’s home. The boy was a neighbor of Felton’s and the two played video games together, according to the complaint.
Felton was found dead by authorities on March 18 at his home in a pool of blood. An autopsy determined that he died of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to the complaint.
Felton’s cousin discovered her body after going to Felton’s home because he hadn’t heard from her in days, the complaint says.
A receipt for a pizza delivery order was found near a spent casing, according to the complaint.
“Police located a receipt in the living room on a side table (the same side table where the aforementioned carcass was found). That receipt was for an order from ‘Domino’s Pizza’ showing that ‘Brandy’ placed a food order,” the complaint states.
The delivery receipt included a phone number.
A detective, according to the complaint, called the phone number on the receipt, which was answered by a «man who appeared to be young,» according to the complaint. The person who answered the phone denied knowing anyone named Brandy and hung up, according to the complaint.
The boy’s mother took the boy to speak to police on March 18, according to the complaint. The boy said that he learned of Felton’s death from his grandmother. The boy, when questioned about the pizza order, said the phone was his and no one was using or borrowing it.
The boy’s story, according to the complaint, changed several times.
“Defendant then continually stated that he did not order food that night and never ordered food from Felton’s home. He claimed that he had no idea about the pizza and that Felton never used his phone to order food,” the complaint states. “Defendant was then shown the receipt that he recovered from the Felton residence and asked if he knew what happened to Felton. The defendant replied that he did not know, then was told that Felton was murdered. The defendant later stated that he did not know about it (despite the fact that he previously indicated that his grandmother informed him about what happened to Felton) ”.
The boy eventually admitted that he was at Felton’s home when he was killed with a friend of Felton’s who the boy claims shot the victim in the back of the head, according to the complaint. The boy said that Felton’s friend, after shooting him, went into Felton’s room and took an AR15 and a shotgun.
The boy’s mother, according to the complaint, told police that her son had lied to investigators.
“He and his friends went to the Felton residence to buy Felton’s guns. Felton was not going to sell the guns and then the defendant and his friends went to Felton’s to get the guns,” the complaint states.
Attorney Katie Holtz, who represents the girl, declined to comment directly on the case by email Wednesday.
However, when asked if the child is being tried as an adult, Holtz wrote: “In Wisconsin, any child charged with a homicide of this classification, if the child is over the age of 10, begins by being charged as an adult and can then be charged as an adult. ask the court to transfer your case to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.”
Additional court records in the case indicate that $100,000 bond was set Monday in the case.
During a search warrant of the boy’s phone, detectives discovered incriminating text messages sent on March 9, according to the complaint.
“In those messages, Defendant claims that he has a ‘play,’ which Plaintiff knows is a slang term for robbery. Defendant then states that the ‘play’ is for a shotgun and a ‘chop’ which Plaintiff knows is a slang term for an AR-15 style rifle,” the complaint states.
Other text messages sent on March 15 from the boy’s phone read: «I’m going to do it to Brandan» and «Or I should kill him rm,» which was a typo at the time, according to the affidavit.
It was not clear Wednesday if anyone else has been charged in the case.
Felton’s relatives were not immediately contacted Wednesday.