Man Fatally Shoots Father for Interfering as He Roughs Up Ex, Who Is Also Victim's Stepdaughter: Police

Miguel Ocasio, 28, was charged on November 14 with one count of first-degree reckless homicide with a modifier for the use of a dangerous weapon for the shooting death of Miguel Arocho, 50, according to court records reviewed by Fox 6 Now, CBS 58, and Law&Crime.

The charge came one day after the Milwaukee Police Department was called around 7:45 p.m. to a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Arocho suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The alleged shooter was nowhere to be seen.

They did, however, make contact with the alleged shooter's ex-girlfriend, who explained that Arocho had previously been married to her mother, making him her stepfather, according to the criminal complaint. She further said that she and her children were living with Arocho at the time of the shooting. Ocasio later told police that he and his ex had first met when her mother married his father.

Not living there was Arocho's biological son, Ocasio, who the witness said was also her ex-boyfriend. She told police that he was the shooter and that after shooting her stepfather, his father, he fled on foot. Police were able to apprehend him the next day.

According to the witness, the fatal altercation occurred after she'd returned from a trip to Walmart with a male friend, who had driven. She said that upon their arrival at her home, Ocasio pulled up and began trying to pull open her door, accusing her of being in a romantic relationship with the driver.

She said that she stepped out of the vehicle in an effort to protect her friend because she "knows that her ex carries a gun," per the complaint. She said that her friend subsequently left, and she tried to enter her apartment, but the suspect kept arguing with her. As they argued near the side door, she alleges that he "pushed her in the face with his hand."

It was at this point that her stepfather, Arocho, came down and attempted to intervene, per the documents. The witness said that she stood by as Ocasio began arguing with his father, her stepfather. She said she "attempted to calm the situation," but this was when Ocasio pulled out the gun she'd suspected he might have on him.

Police detailed that she was successful in pushing her ex-boyfriend down to the sidewalk, which is when "her ex fired two gunshots, but she does not believe those gunshots hit anyone," according to the affidavit. She said that Arocho ran briefly inside their apartment and returned.

She told police "she did not see anything in her stepdad's hands," as it was at this point that she "was either pushed or fell to the ground," per the report. While down, she told them she heard two gunshots, and when she got up, she "saw that her stepdad had been shot."

A detective investigating the scene reported finding six 9mm spent cartridge casings "from 4 feet to 26 feet" away from where they found the victim's body, per the complaint.

In a police interview, Ocasio admitted to shooting his father. He told police, per legal documents, that he and his ex-girlfriend had been talking when his father came out and "threatened him with a firearm." He told police that "he, Ocasio, is not going to let anyone harm him," according to the report.

He said that he attempted to walk away from the scene after his father interrupted his "conversation" with his girlfriend, but said he got "scared" when Arocho "threatened to shoot him." Ocasio said he fired a single "warning shot."

As the interview continued, police wrote that Ocasio told them "he only fired one warning shot because he believed his father was getting his gun. When his father came outside, his father was going to reach, and he, Ocasio, then fired because he had been threatened and he was scared."

When asked if he specifically saw anything in his father's hands, Ocasio told police "he did not see anything." Nevertheless, he said he "fired two shots at his father, and he did not check on his father because he was scared and he just ran away."

Ocasio is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond. His preliminary court hearing is scheduled for November 25.