UPDATE: Rashada makes 1st court appearance for New Year’s Day homicide

RACINE — The man accused of a fatal shooting on New Year’s Day has been extradited from Illinois and made his first appearance in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday.

Abdullah Rashada Jr., 25, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of endangering safety/reckless use of a firearm in the shooting death of Billy Petty, 56, at Rerun’s Lounge, 1111 Washington Ave.

Avery T. Stewart, 66, the bar’s owner, was shot accidentally by Petty during the confrontation between the three men.

Rashada’s bail was set at $500,000, but the defendant is on a hold due to a failure-to-appear warrant out of Kenosha County on a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. The warrant was issued in November 2021.

Case history for Rashada

The Racine Police Department was dispatched to Rerun’s Lounge at approximately 2:34 a.m. on the report of a shooting.

According to the criminal complaint, a witness told investigators there had been a fight and during the fight, someone fired shots.

On Jan. 3, investigators reviewed footage from security cameras, which showed a man arguing with Stewart, who appeared to try and calm the man down and return some money to him.

The video shows Petty approaching the two men. The video showed Petty had a firearm and hit the man in the face, at which time the gun discharged and shot Stewart.

Rashada backed up toward the door and then allegedly shot toward Petty, according to the criminal complaint, who fell to the ground. Rashada then allegedly fired 10 more times.

Rashada was identified as the primary suspect on Jan. 9. He remained on the lam until Aug. 10 when he was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 30. However, unless the defendant is able to hire a private attorney, it could be months before Rashada has legal counsel due to a shortage of attorneys at the Wisconsin Public Defender’s Office.