Suspect in fatal shooting appears in Milwaukee court after months on the run

A Milwaukee man who prosecutors say confessed to a woman through social media that he killed her son during a drug deal now wants his day in court.

Julian Kelly, 21, appeared in a preliminary hearing Thursday, answering to a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in the March 28 shooting death of Anthony Wingo Jr., 20.

Milwaukee County Judicial Court Commissioner Barry Phillips found there was enough probable cause to bind the matter over for trial. Kelly also was arraigned during the hearing and pleaded not guilty.

Kelly was arrested by federal marshals in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in October after several months in hiding.

He remained in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail on Thursday afternoon, jail records show. A bail hearing was scheduled for Monday.

Jazzamin Green got emotional during the hearing and had to leave the courtroom at times as Milwaukee Police Det. Shaun Lesniewski recounted details about how her son was fatally shot.

"It was a lot for me to see him there, smiling like he didn't care," Green said, referring to Kelly. "I'm a little bit at peace now because he's off the street. Hopefully they acknowledge he's a flight risk ... so he can stay in jail."

The investigation started with a car left running in the Ascension St. Joseph Hospital parking lot

Milwaukee police were summoned to Ascension St. Joseph Hospital just after midnight March 28 for a call about a shooting victim, according to a criminal complaint.

Wingo was shot in the back and died, despite doctors' efforts to save him.

Outside in the hospital's emergency parking, officers found an unoccupied Nissan Maxima with its engine still running. Two bullet holes were found on the car, one of which was at the rear passenger window.

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Investigators determined it was the vehicle that was used to drive Wingo to the hospital.

An autopsy revealed Wingo was shot in the left back.

Thursday's hearing wasn't Jazzamin Green's first encounter with Julian Kelly

Green told the Journal Sentinel she used social media to track down Kelly after she learned police identified him as the prime suspect in Wingo's death.

"Can you call me plz?" read one message she sent to Kelly on Facebook.

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Hours later, she got a Facebook voice message. In it, Kelly allegedly attempted to explain why he killed her son.

According to a criminal complaint, the person on the other end of the call said he was involved in a marijuana purchase, and maintained the buyer wasn't supposed to bring anyone one else to the deal.

The caller told Green he was in the backseat, and he fired when Wingo, seated in the front, "reached back" and "put something under his arm." He said he "felt in danger" and "did not hesitate" and "thus did what I did."

Green told the Journal Sentinel she didn't know if she would be called by prosecutors to be a witness, but said it could be possible if the case progresses.

Why has it taken so long to get to arraignment?

Getting Kelly into a Milwaukee County courtroom took some effort.

Kelly was arrested by federal marshals in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in October after several months in hiding. The charge against him also includes modifiers for use of a dangerous weapon and for being a party to a crime.

In July, Green and other family and friends of Wingo took to the streets outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse to turn up the heat on local law enforcement to prioritize the case.