Teen on pretrial release charged in second homicide
A 17-year-old has been charged in two homicides 13 months apart from each other — the latter of which came after a Milwaukee County judge allowed him to go on pretrial release without paying any bail.
Rashaun A. Seaberry of Milwaukee was on house arrest with a GPS monitoring bracelet stemming from an April 2021 fatal shooting when, police say, he was involved in a second fatal shooting that happened May 31, 2022, near his home.
In the first incident, prosecutors accused Seaberry of firing a gun out of the sunroof of a moving vehicle during an argument between two groups of people, killing a 26-year-old woman.
In the second, Seaberry and two other men are accused of opening fire on a passing vehicle, killing a friend of theirs, Camiona Funches, 19, who was an innocent bystander. One of the three men later told police they fired at the vehicle out of fear that the people inside were going to retaliate against Seaberry for the 2021 shooting.
Funches is a 2021 graduate of Milwaukee’s Transition High School. She was honored as the class salutatorian.
After the first incident, Seaberry had been in custody for nearly a year when Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Watts converted his $30,000 cash bail into a $30,000 signature bond, according to online court records.
That meant Seaberry did not have to pay any money up front before transitioning to house arrest.
Watts’ move came after the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office was unable to proceed to trial in January and March of this year because prosecutors had issues producing essential witnesses. Seaberry then demanded a speedy trial, prompting Watts to convert his bail after refusing to dismiss the case.
Bail reform has emerged as a pressing issue in Wisconsin’s justice system since the suspect in last year’s Waukesha parade attack was freed on a $1,000 bail five days beforehand.
Issues with witnesses are also common in homicide cases. A 2019 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation found at least 23% of such cases in the previous five years had problems with witnesses showing up to testify.
Seaberry is now back in custody and being held on a $100,000 cash bail. He has been charged with first-degree reck
less homicide and several other felonies in both cases.
April 2021 incident
According to the criminal complaint: In the early morning hours of April 18, 2021, Jasmine R. Brown spent several hours at a bar with three other women. While there, one of her friends saw a man she had recently broken up with, 25-year-old Angelo McCaleb.
McCaleb and two witnesses told police there was no confrontation at the bar. McCaleb's ex-girlfriend told police she had some words with him after seeing him dance with another woman.
As the women left the bar for home, several witnesses said they saw McCaleb remove a rifle from the trunk of his car and place it in the front seat. They also reported seeing McCaleb with his brother, Seaberry, who was 16 at the time.
Brown drove McCaleb's ex-girlfriend from the bar to her home, near the 500 block of West Melvina Street. Later, two cars of people showed up outside, including McCaleb and Seaberry. As an argument ensued, Brown returned to pick up her friend and take her somewhere else.
As the woman walked toward Brown's car, another vehicle aggressively drove at her and then sped off. After that, witnesses saw McCaleb's car driving towards them, with Seaburry shooting a gun from the sunroof at Brown's car, hitting and killing Brown.
Seaberry and McCaleb have both been charged in the incident, although McCaleb has not been arrested, court records show.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Reyna Morales initially set a $30,000 cash bail for Seaberry and denied his attempt to have the case transferred to juvenile court, online court records show.
Months passed, and the case transferred to Watts. Seaberry demanded a speedy trial in January. In March, after prosecutors indicated they could not meet that demand, Watts refused to dismiss the case but converted Seaberry's cash bail into a $30,000 signature bond.
Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern said multiple witnesses have since moved to other states. Another witness “has not been located despite repeated investigative attempts to do so.”
Seaberry was released from custody on GPS monitoring March 21, about 11 months after the shooting, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff 's Office. Watts allowed Seaberry to attend school but ordered him not to possess any guns.
A trial is scheduled for Aug. 8.
May 2022 incident
The shooting that killed Funches came just two months after Seaberry was released on house arrest.
Also charged in connection with the incident is Daylin T. Bridges and Omarion R. McNealy, both 18. Seaberry and Bridges have been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and other offenses, while McNealy faces two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
All three of them are friends with Funches and two other women who found themselves in the crosshairs of the May 31 shooting. Many of them were celebrating the high school graduation of their peers at the time, according to court records.
It unfolded on the 5400 block of North Long Island Drive, where Seaberry was on house arrest. According to the criminal complaint: On the evening of May 31, Funches was attending high school graduation parties along with two friends. One of the friends, who once dated Seaberry but was on good terms with him, wanted to surprise him by showing up unannounced to another graduation party on North Long Island Drive.
Funches' friends told police they all know and get along with Seaberry, Bridges and McNealy.
As the women neared the residence on North Long Island Drive, they noticed a silver Kia Soul moving slowly towards them with its windows heavily tinted, which they found suspicious.
Meanwhile, Seaberry, Bridges and McNealy were outside in front of a house with other people and had also noticed the same silver Kia Soul. They later told police they saw the car slowly riding back and forth down the block.
In preparation for the Kia Soul's next pass, multiple people armed themselves and took positions, Bridges later told police. He said they were nervous because Seaberry has received hreats over his involvement in the shooting that killed Brown in 2021.
When the car came around again, multiple people opened fire. Seaberry estimated he fired 15 to 20 shots. Bridges said he fired 10 to 12. McNealy fired once before his gun jammed.
Police later recovered 24 casings and five handguns, one of which had an extended magazine.
It appears the car that Funches was driving arrived just the gunfire began. A friend of Funches said their car was suddenly hit by bullets after noticing the Kia Soul driving towards them.
It is unclear what happened to those inside the Kia Soul, but by the time police arrived, the car was found in the middle of the street empty and its doors ajar.
It wasn't until after the shooting that everyone realized who had been shot. McNealy's sister, who is Seaberry's adopted mother, said she did not witness the shooting but questioned Seaberry and Bridges about what happened after seeing Funches' car with bullet holes. She got no answer.
She then found McNealy, who was the boyfriend of Funches, upset and destroying his bedroom.
“She's my girl, but they're my brothers,” he told her.