31-01-2025
Milwaukee teen gets 17 years in shooting death of Cordell Smith
It's a scene that has become frustratingly more common in Milwaukee lately – a car weaving perilously down often-narrow neighborhood streets, tires screeching, with a person or two poking out from the passenger windows flailing their arms or throwing up hand signs.
Only this time, gunshots were also heard, and a video of happened was recorded.
In the end, a Milwaukee teenager lost his life.
And another teen is headed to prison to answer for it.
Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey A. Wagner on Friday sentenced Cordell Smith to a total of 17 years behind bars for his role in the June 2 shooting death of Shyir McCoy, 16.
The case against Smith, 17, drew the attention of a fledgling court-watching group that has called for courts in Milwaukee County to mete out stiffer sentences for people convicted in cases with roots in reckless driving.
Milwaukee police received a ShotSpotter report on June 2 at 6:25 p.m. that sent officers to the 3800 block of West Meinecke Avenue. There, they met the driver of a Tesla who claimed to have recorded a shooting on the vehicle's camera. Officers later got a call directing them to St. Joseph Hospital regarding a homicide investigation.
A witness told investigators McCoy was in a stolen Kia Sportage with three friends when a black Hyundai, "driving recklessly back and forth down the street" became visible to them, according to a June 21 criminal complaint.
Gunshots rang out, prompting everyone in the Sportage to duck.
"I think I'm shot," McCoy declared, according to the complaint.
The driver of the Sportage called McCoy's mother, who followed the mother's instruction to bring McCoy to her. Eventually, McCoy was taken to St. Joseph, where he later died.
Another witness told investigators they had seen the Sportage "driving recklessly" on Meinecke Avenue moments before the shooting.
The witness noted the vehicle that was recorded was driving in a manner reminiscent of the behavior seen widely of the Kia Boyz, a loosely connected band of teens and young adults who authorities have blamed largely for a surge in car thefts in Milwaukee and throughout the Midwest.
Smith was later wanted for taking another vehicle, a Ford C-Max, in an unrelated case two weeks after the shooting.
In that incident, police found the stolen C-Max on June 17 on North 34th Street with two people inside it. Officers arrested Smith and a 17-year-old passenger after a chase. A third person, Travon Little, 17, was also arrested later that night.
Investigators questioned the passenger about the shooting. The passenger picked Smith and Little from a photo array and identified Smith as the gunman, the criminal complaint said.
Little pleaded guilty Jan. 22 to two counts of harboring/aiding a felon, online court records show. He's scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 13.
The volunteer court-monitoring group known as Enough is Enough - A Legacy for Erin filed a community impact statement calling for "swift and appropriate consequences" in the case.
The group was created last summer in response to the death 14 months earlier of Erin Mogensen, the victim of a reckless driving crash.
The group has made it a mission to observe hundreds of criminal cases filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court's felony division involving reckless driving and drivers who fled from police.
Smith initially was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and operating a motor vehicle to flee or attempting to elude an officer.
In a Jan. 21 report, Enough is Enough determined the judges that they observed handed out sentences were more lenient than prosecutors' recommendations about two-thirds of the time.
"We must send a clear message that this behavior will not be tolerated and that consequences are inevitable and will be enforced," the group wrote in its Jan. 29 letter to Wagner. "The community is watching. The safety of Milwaukee County depends on holding individuals like Mr. Smith accountable and prioritizing the well-being of all residents."
Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs have for years wrestled to get the upper hand on reckless driving and speeding.
Just a few weeks into the new year, 2025 seems like it may shape up to be no different.
In all, 90 people died in crashes on Milwaukee County roads in 2024, compared with 91 road fatalities the year before, according to data provided Friday by the state Department of Transportation. So far, in 2025, three people had lost their lives in traffic fatalities as of Jan. 26, the most updated figure transportation officials provided on Friday.
City traffic data shows Milwaukee police ended 2024 having issued 4,066 citations for speeding – a 36.7% decrease from 2023, when 6,518 tickets were handed out.
So far, 461 such tickets have been written by police in 2025.
Roughly a third of the citations this year were given to motorists who were stopped for driving more than 20 mph over the posted speed limit.
Eighty-two county residents signed a petition that was included in Smith's court file, supporting Enough is Enough's call for harsher sentencing in reckless driving cases.
Smith will have to serve 11 years on extended supervision when he is released from prison.
In a sentencing memorandum, defense attorney Quron R.D. Payne asked for McCoy be sentenced to no more than seven years behind bars, and 13 years of extended supervision upon release.
Smith was given 228 days of pre-trial credit that can be applied to his prison sentence. He has 20 days to appeal.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee teen gets 17 years in Cordell Smith's June 2 death
