The three suspects charged in connection with the homicide of city worker Greg “Ziggy” Zyszkiewicz have been bound over for trial.
In a preliminary hearing Thursday, court commissioner J.C. Moore ruled there’s enough evidence for 21-year old Eric Smiley to stand trial.
The two other suspects, 17-year-old Deshaun Scott and 17-year-old Qhualun Shaw, waived their right to a preliminary hearing.
The three men face roughly a dozen criminal charges. Among them, Scott is charged with first degree intentional homicide. Shaw and Smiley are both charged with felony murder.
Authorities allege Zyszkiewicz was sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, near 23rd and Cherry, when Scott and Shaw approached him to try and steal the car.
According to a criminal complaint, Scott shot Zyszkiewicz with a shotgun before he and Shaw ran back to a stolen car and Smiley drove them away.
While testifying at Thursday’s preliminary hearing, Milwaukee Police Detective Matthew Bell said Zyszkiewicz's injuries were traumatic.
"The victim was shot once in the head with what appeared to be a large caliber gun," Bell said.
According to a criminal complaint, Smiley used the shotgun to steal the vehicle the three men drove to 23rd and Cherry, a Kia, from its owner earlier in the day at a gas station near 35th and Townsend.
Minutes later, Smiley is accused of driving the Kia to a home near 28th and Chambers and battering the mother of his 6-month-old child.
During questioning from Smiley's attorney, Bell said the woman carjacked at the gas station wasn't able to identify Smiley in a photo array following the incident.
"She couldn't pick Mr. Smiley out, true?" said Smiley's defense attorney.
"True," Bell replied.
Zyszkiewicz, a 64-year-old U.S. Army veteran, was on the job at the time of his death.
He worked as a special enforcement inspector for Milwaukee’s Department of Neighborhood Services, and was just weeks from being eligible for retirement at the time of his death.
All three suspects were caught later that day following a pair of chases involving the Kia and a stolen Toyota.
Investigators accuse Scott of stealing the Toyota on March 1.
Smiley, a convicted felon, was out on bail and facing separate charges of bail jumping and felony possession of a firearm at the time of Zyszkiewicz’s homicide.
Shaw was also out on bail at the time of the shooting, and charged with car theft in a separate case.
Scott, Smiley and Shaw remain in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail.
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