Crime & Safety
17-Year-Old Charged in Two Armed Robberies on East Side
He admitted to police robbing a Tosa teenager and attempting to rob a couple on North Avenue with a 13-year-old accomplice.
Charges have been filed against a 17-year-old from Milwaukee who admitted to .
Nicholas J. Howell was charged Tuesday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with one count of armed robbery and two counts of attempted armed robbery. If convicted, he faces up to 80 years in prison and $200,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
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At 8:48 p.m. Saturday, police were called to , 6119 W. North Ave., on a report of an attempted armed robbery in the street in front of the restaurant.
The victims, a Milwaukee couple, were inside the restaurant, hiding behind the counter, and the staff had locked the doors, they said.
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An officer on his way to that call got another – a 17-year-old Wauwatosa boy had just robbed at gunpoint near North 65th and West Wright streets for his wallet, an iPhone and iBeat earphones.
That victim said he had been pushed to the ground and had a gun held to the back of his head while the robbers emptied his pockets.
Officers were told to be on the lookout for two black males, one wearing a black hoodie and the other a red jacket.
A Tosa officer soon spotted them near West Center and North 62nd streets and they fled through yards to the south.
Wauwatosa police called on their Milwaukee counterparts to assist in setting up an area perimeter, but the two suspects bolted, and the chase was on. Officers ran the suspects down and arrested them at about 9:30 p.m.
Howell's accomplice turned out to be just 13 years old.
Howell admitted to the two robberies and said he had tossed his gun into a yard while being chased by police. The gun was found and identified as a CO2-powered BB pistol that was an exact replica of a Beretta semiautomatic.
Also found strewn through the area was all the property stolen from the Tosa boy and the two suspects' jackets, as well as a black bandana.
Howell is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail. The 13-year-old was remanded to the custody of the Juvenile Justice Center. Information on juveniles involved in crimes is not made available to the public.
