Man gets prison for killing girlfriend’s date from strip club
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz looked at defendant Jesse McCauley.
“You’re violent. You’re a menace. You’re dangerous,” she told him.
The words came shortly before she sentenced McCauley on Thursday to 35 years in prison for shooting and killing 56-year-old Scott Ross, a Minnesota salesman who traveled to Milwaukee for a date with McCauley’s thengirlfriend. Protasiewicz also sentenced McCauley to 15 years of extended supervision.
Ross met McCauley’s girlfriend, Lyneeshia M. Battle, at a Waupaca strip club where she worked. Ross and Battle arranged for a date on Dec. 7, 2016.
McCauley, 25, attempted to rob Ross when he showed up in front of McCauley’s house to pick up Battle. When Ross attempted to speed away, McCauley shot him with a handgun, according to the prosecution.
Shot in the top left side of his back, Ross crashed his car down the block and died.
A jury convicted McCauley in late May of felony murder. Jurors also found him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Battle agreed to testify against McCauley as part of her plea deal. She pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery in May 2017, a lesser charge from the felony murder charge she originally faced.
Battle testified that McCauley came outside when she opened the passenger side door of Ross’ car. She said McCauley opened the driver’s side door, she heard a gunshot and then saw McCauley standing in the street with a handgun.
Protasiewicz said Thursday she remembered the case well, adding that she found Battle’s testimony credible. She said the case had “overwhelming evidence,” which included phone records tying McCauley to the incident.
“When he pulled off, instead of letting him go, you shot and killed him,” Protasiewicz said.
One of the victim’s sisters, Gail Loffler, wrote a letter to the court in which she called the killing a “pointless callous act of violence.” She said Ross’ death “is unthinkable for his children.”
Sue Wright, another sister, wrote that her brother was “unbelievably naive and gullible.”
“He believed that if he was straight and respectful to people, all people, they would be the same,” Wright wrote.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Lonski detailed McCauley’s prior criminal history at Thursday’s sentencing. It includes a conviction for first-degree recklessly endangering safety in a Feb. 20, 2013, incident. McCauley fired a handgun at a man at the Jobs Corps Center on North 65th Street, according to the criminal complaint. The victim was struck but survived his injuries.
McCauley spoke in court Thursday, denying his involvement in Ross’ death and apologizing to his own family.
“I’m sitting here for no reason,” McCauley said. “I had nothing to do with the shooting of Scott Ross.”
Defense attorney Patrick Flanagan said McCauley is an “upbeat and positive” person who has tutored young inmates in prison. McCauley is currently detained at Waupun Correctional Institution because he remained on extended supervision for the 2013 incident. Protasiewicz did not give McCauley time for credit served and made his new sentence concurrent to the existing sentence.
McCauley faced a maximum of 37 years and 3 months in prison, as well as 13 years and 9 months of extended supervision.