



MILWAUKEE -- 20-year-old Najee Harmon, who prompted a massive manhunt in Milwaukee on Friday, June 19th and into Saturday after a Wauwatosa detective was shot and seriously injured Friday morning is one of two people now criminally charged -- accused in an armed robbery that occurred back on June 16th. This, as questions are being raised about Harmon -- a two-time convicted felon. Should he have been free, able to walk the street at the time of Friday's officer-involved shooting -- or should he have been behind bars?





Najee Harmon





In 2011, Harmon was convicted of disorderly conduct and felony substantial battery after taking part in an attack that left a teenage boy unconscious.



In 2012, Harmon pleaded guilty to and was convicted of felony theft of movable property for videotaping a theft and then grabbing a pair of the victim's headphones.



Many are now questioning why Harmon was on the street to begin with at the time of Friday's officer-involved shooting.



He got probation in the 2012 case.



"He got one year in the House of Correction. It was stayed. He was put on probation. His probation was revoked and he served the one-year sentence. The state law also tells us that judges are supposed to start with the consideration of probation as the appropriate sentence -- and only if the judge decides that probation is not appropriate, the judge is supposed to then consider a restrictive setting like jail or prison," Chief Judge Jeffrey Kremers said.



Harmon is now accused of shooting and seriously injuring a 52-year-old Wauwatosa detective last Friday morning.



In their search for Harmon, police on Friday were led to the area of 12th and Keefe, where they were focused on a home.





Search for Najee Harmon (12th and Keefe)





Officers tried for several hours to make contact with Harmon and anyone else who may have been inside the home. Tactical units eventually went inside after gas was deployed, but police did not locate Harmon.



Harmon was taken into custody on Saturday -- in the 2500 block of N. 21st Street.





Najee Harmon arrested (N. 21st Street)






"Officers from the Milwaukee Police Department Fugitive Apprehension Unit searched the home. A Milwaukee K9 found Harmon hiding in the basement," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said.



He was arrested without incident.



Charges are pending against Harmon in connection with the shooting of the Wauwatosa detective -- but he and 20-year-old Simione Parks of Milwaukee each face one count of armed robbery as party to a crime in connection with an armed robbery that occurred on June 16th. Those charges were filed on Monday, June 22nd.



A criminal complaint indicates police were called out to the 5500 block of W. Fond du Lac Avenue in Milwaukee on June 16th. There, they spoke with a woman who indicated she went with her brother to a check cashing store to cash a check. As she waited in the vehicle while her brother went inside the business, she said she noticed two young black males exit a vehicle parked next to hers and enter the check cashing business. After the men exited the business, the woman told police one of the men (Najee Harmon) entered her vehicle via the rear passenger door and put a gun to her neck -- demanding the car keys and threatening to shoot her.



The woman told police when she told Harmon she didn't have the keys, he said: "I want all the money or I'm going to shoot you."



The complaint indicates she gave Harmon her wallet and he then exited her vehicle.



Police reviewed surveillance video -- which showed the two men exiting their vehicle and then entering the check cashing store. The complaint indicates Parks could be seen in the video conducting a transaction inside the store, and Harmon could be seen hanging around the store while Parks conducted his transaction.



The surveillance video then showed the two leaving the store, and entering their car.



After a short time, the video shows Harmon exiting his vehicle, and entering the woman's vehicle parked next to him.



The complaint indicates while Harmon was inside the woman's vehicle, the video showed Parks backing up his vehicle and stopping behind the woman's vehicle -- opening the rear driver's side passenger door. A short time later, Harmon was seen exiting the woman's vehicle and running to the waiting car.



Harmon could be seen in the video holding what appeared to be a gun, police say.



The vehicle is then seen fleeing the scene.



A manager at the check cashing store was able to identify Parks for police via his state ID.



The woman in the vehicle parked next to the vehicle Parks and Harmon were in when they showed up to the check cashing store was able to identify Harmon for police via a photo array.



Najee Harmon is accused of shooting a 52-year-old Wauwatosa detective on Friday, June 19th near 60th and Good Hope as that detective and two other officers investigated a burglary.





60th and Good Hope officer-involved shooting (Wauwatosa detective shot)





That detective had to have surgery at Froedtert Hospital, and he was listed in serious but stable condition.



Harmon has not yet been officially charged in connection with the alleged shooting of the detective. Police say they will likely refer that case to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office for charges later this week.