Inset: Miguel Ocasio (Milwaukee County Jail). Background: The area in Wisconsin where Ocasio allegedly killed his father (Google Maps).
A 28-year-old man in Wisconsin is accused of killing his own father, fatally shooting the older man during an argument last week in front of a witness who was both the shooter's ex-girlfriend and the victim's stepdaughter.
Miguel Ocasio was taken into custody on Nov. 14 and charged with one count of first-degree homicide with a modifier for the use of a dangerous weapon in the slaying of Miguel Arocho, court records show.
According to court records obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Milwaukee Police Department at about 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, responded to a residence in the 1900 block of South 16th Street. Upon arriving, first responders said they located an adult male, later identified as Arocho, suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A witness to the shooting told police that Arocho had previously been married to her mother, making him her stepfather. She said she and her children had been living with Arocho at the time he was shot. The witness also stated that Ocasio was the shooter, identifying him as both her ex-boyfriend as well as Arocho's biological son.
The witness said she had gone to Walmart earlier in the day with a male friend who then drove her home to Arocho's house. When they got to the home, Ocasio pulled up and attempted to pull open her door and began to accuse her of being in a romantic relationship with the male friend. The witness said she exited the car to protect her friend because she "knows that her ex carries a gun."
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"Her friend then left and she tried entering the apartment, but her ex kept arguing with her," the affidavit states. "They were standing near the side door and her ex pushed her in the face with his hand. Her ex continued arguing with her, and that is when her stepdad, [Arocho], came down. Once her stepdad came down, she, her ex, and [Arocho] were standing in the gangway and her ex and [Arocho] were arguing."
The witness said she "attempted to calm the situation," but Ocasio pulled a gun.
"She then tried to push her ex away, and she was able to push him to the sidewalk in front of the apartment," police wrote. "At that point, her ex fired two gunshots, but she does not believe those gunshots hit anyone. After those gunshots, [Arocho] ran inside, but immediately exited. When he came out, she did not see anything in her stepdad's hands. At that point, she was either pushed or fell to the ground, and she then heard two gunshots. She got up and saw that her stepdad had been shot."
After the shooting, the witness said Ocasio fled on foot. He was picked up by police the following day.
In an interview with police, Ocasio allegedly admitted to shooting his father. He claimed he was talking to his ex-girlfriend when his father came outside and "threatened him with a firearm," adding that "He, Ocasio, is not going to let anyone harm him." He claimed he attempted to walk away when his father interrupted his "conversation" with his ex-girlfriend, but said he was "scared" when his father "threatened to shoot him," so he fired a "warning shot."
Ocasio explained that he met his ex-girlfriend, the witness, when his father married her mother.
"He only fired one warning shot because he believed his father was getting his gun," police wrote. "When his father came outside, his father was going to reach and he, Ocasio, then fired because he had been threatened and he was scared. When asked if he saw anything in his father's hands, he said that he did not see anything. He fired two shots at his father, and he did not check on his father because he was scared and he just ran away."
Ocasio is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash-only bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 25.
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