Milwaukee police discovered a teenager’s dead body inside a stolen truck days after being sent to a tow yard.
According to a report from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), officers received a call about an SUV crashing into a tree on June 1, around 6:09 p.m. Police arrived at North 91st Street and West Fond du Lac Avenue to find the vehicle against a tree and the 16-year-old driver a short distance from the SUV.
The teen was transported to the hospital for his injuries and arrested after MPD discovered the SUV was stolen.
Fox 6 reported the vehicle was a Kia SUV. Police arranged for the Kia to be taken to a tow lot.
On June 5, around 10:54 a.m., police were dispatched to the same tow lot because a body was discovered “on the floor of the rear portion of a severely accident-damaged SUV.”
A woman later identified the victim as her 17-year-old son, James Stokes Jr.
The reason police didn’t search the car when the 16-year-old was arrested is unknown.
What’s also unknown is whether James was alive at the time of the car crash and before police found him.
The cause of death for the 17-year-old has yet to be determined by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. The MPD and the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) are investigating the situation.
Before James was found in the car and reported dead, his family distributed missing flyers around town. Now, the grieving family is demanding justice for the teen.
According to a Facebook Live video posted by his sister, Jamie Stokes, the victim’s friend is allegedly being blamed for his death, and she refused to let him go down for something he didn’t do. According to Jamie, the best friend was the one sent to the hospital and arrested. She alleged that there were three people in the vehicle.
“The police left my brother in that f**king car. Nobody went to go look for him,” Jamie said.
The family held a balloon-releasing ceremony on Wednesday for James at the tree where the accident happened.
