A Racine teen was charged Tuesday with numerous charges — including attempted homicide — relating to gang activity with the Dirty P’s street gang after several shooting incidents.
Lashawn Franklin, 17, was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with:
- Attempted first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
- Attempted armed robbery
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18
- Three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon
- 21 counts of misdemeanor bail jumping
If convicted of all charges, Franklin faces up to 149 years nine months in prison and/or fines up to $349,000.
Franklin charged with attempted homicide
According to the criminal complaint: Officers with the Racine Police Department received reports of gunshots being heard near 19th Street and Taylor Avenue on Wednesday. When they arrived, they found broken glass, three spent shell casings and one live round in the 1900 block of Kearney.
During the investigation, a person called the Racine County Joint Dispatch Center saying that Franklin shot at them while he was sitting in his car. The boy also told police that Franklin pulled out a gun and demanded that he give him everything. He then “racked the slide” on the gun and the teen drove away in his car. Franklin then starting shooting at him as he was driving away.
At 3:15 p.m. the next day, police received another report of shots being fired in the 1300 block of Grand Avenue. A car parked in the area was struck by a bullet that went through the passenger-side window and into a wooden porch. The owner of the car told police she had come home about 10 minutes before the shooting when she saw five to six males. They wore all dark clothing and stood on the corner of Grand Avenue and 13th Street. When she saw that one of the men had his face covered, she ran into her house and heard the sound of gunshots.
During the investigation, a detective saw a person run into an alcove in the 700 block of 11th Street. They then found that the person had thrown a .22 caliber handgun on top of the roof of a garage. They took the person into custody who told them he saw Franklin and a person he did not know walking westbound on 13th Street towards Grand Avenue. The two groups then started to shoot at one another.
Officers found five 40mm bullet casings, a live 9mm round and two spent 9mm rounds.
When detectives apprehended Franklin at his home, they found a 9mm handgun and ammunition. Franklin denied shooting at the group and said it was the boy with the .22 caliber handgun who started shooting at him. But police didn’t find any .22 caliber casings or live rounds to substantiate that claim.
At the time of the incident, Franklin was out on bond on two pending misdemeanor cases.
Investigators connect stolen handgun to shots fired incident
In a separate case but related case involving Franklin, the Racine County District Attorney’s Office also charged him with:
- Theft-moveable property (special facts)
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18
- Contributing to the delinquency of a child
- Providing a dangerous weapon to a person under 18
If convicted of all charges, Franklin faces up to 11 years in prison and/or fined up to $40,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Franklin stole a gun from a man while he was at his house on June 30 to get his haircut. While cutting Franklin’s hair, the man’s mother called him. During that time, Franklin took the man’s .40 caliber pistol from under his pillow. The man identified Franklin as the person that took the gun from his home.
On July 23, three suspects — including Franklin — were identified as suspects involved in a theft from a car in the 4500 block of Graceland Boulevard. During that incident, a 15-year-old boy had the stolen pistol in his possession.
Investigators also found a YouTube video featuring known Dirty P gang members displaying the stolen pistol. The State Crime Lab then connected the pistol to a shots fired incident on July 16.
A preliminary hearing has been set for 7:30 a.m. Oct. 25 in Racine County Felony Court for Franklin, who is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.