Inset, left to right: Barry A. Coleman and Jamal White (Milwaukee Police Dept.). Background: Coleman and two other men allegedly kidnapped White from in front of his Wisconsin home (WISN).
A 14-year-old in Wisconsin has been arrested and charged as an adult after he allegedly orchestrated the abduction of a 7-year-old boy who was then held for a $100,000 ransom. Barry Alan Coleman was formally charged last week with one count each of forcible kidnapping, taking hostages as a party to a crime, possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 in the abduction of Jamal White, records show.
Two other men, 25-year-old Corey Williams and 38-year-old Fabian Johnson, have also been charged in connection with the case.
Coleman allegedly planned to rob the victim's mother. When she wasn't home, the trio targeted the victim's father instead, but when he fled, they grabbed White.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the Milwaukee Police Department at about 7 p.m. on July 11 responded to a home in the 6200 block of West Hustis Street regarding the armed kidnapping of a 7-year-old. The father told police his son, White, had just been "abducted at gunpoint from the outside of the residence, without consent."
From the affidavit:
"[The father] reported that they were returning from the park. He was driving his car while the victim was riding his bike on the sidewalk. As he pulled up to the house, a white Jeep Renegade pulled behind him, blocking him in the driveway. A black male, dressed in all black, exited the car armed with a handgun. [The father] stated he ran inside the residence while [his son] ran to the back yard. He heard his son continually screaming, 'Daddy!' and when he looked outside he observed the black male get back into the car and the car drove off with his son inside."
Security camera footage shows that the armed man dressed in all black was Johnson. Coleman, who was armed and wearing a gray top, can allegedly be seen chasing after the victim and carrying him back to the Jeep. Williams then allegedly drove the vehicle away from the scene.
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Police located the Jeep and traced it back to the owner, identified as "KA," who told police her boyfriend, Williams, was using her car at the time of the kidnapping. Officers responded to a residence on North 39th Street, apprehended Williams and located the 7-year-old victim.
In an interview, Williams allegedly confessed to his role in the kidnapping.
"According to Williams, about two weeks earlier, Coleman contacted him about robbing the victim's mother, who is a well-known drug dealer and had been flashing money and drugs," the affidavit states. "Williams stated that 'everyone' knows [the victim's mother] has a lot of money and they brought his uncle, Fabian Johnson, in on the planning."
Williams said they went to the mother's apartment and waited outside, but she never returned home. Coleman then suggested they rob the victim's father, claiming he too was a well-known drug dealer whom they "could rob at gunpoint."
The suspects went to the father's home, saw him standing on the porch and parked nearby. The trio noted that the victim was riding his bike in front of the house. They watched as the father and son went to the park and returned shortly thereafter. Williams then parked in the father's driveway while Coleman and Johnson exited the vehicle. When the father ran into the home, Coleman grabbed the boy and they fled "at a high rate of speed."
In the car, Williams said he argued with Coleman and Johnson over the abduction, stating that it "was not part of the plan." Coleman allegedly said the plan had changed and instead of robbing the father, they would "demand money from the mother…in exchange for returning [the boy]."
Johnson allegedly contacted the mother that evening and demanded $100,000 in cash as well as jewelry "in exchange for her 7-year-old son."
Shortly after the kidnapping, Coleman allegedly told Williams that he knew the victim's father never had any money and Williams suspected that Coleman and Johnson had planned to abduct the child all along.
The trio kept the victim overnight as the mother tried to get the money together and an Amber Alert was issued for her son. Williams claimed Coleman and Johnson "debated physically harming" the victim to prove to his mother that they "were serious," but they abandoned that notion when Williams objected.
"Williams stated he believed had he not disagreed with [Johnson] and Coleman they would have harmed the victim," the affidavit states.
The victim told police he played with toys, watched cartoons, and ate McDonald's after being taken by the trio.
A review of Williams' phone allegedly showed he called the victim's mother 40 times, dialing *67 to block his number each time.
Police searched Coleman's home and allegedly recovered a 9 mm handgun, which Coleman is prohibited from possessing due to a prior conviction for possession with intent to deliver heroin.
Authorities initially charged Coleman as a juvenile, but a judge on Nov. 25 granted prosecutors' request to have him charged as an adult. Under Wisconsin state law, juvenile court jurisdiction can be waived for defendants 14 and older if they are accused of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, or taking hostages, among other serious crimes.
Coleman is currently being held on a $100,000 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 8.
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