Man charged with killing popular bartender was released from custody hours before shooting

Ashley Luthern | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The man charged with fatally shooting a popular Milwaukee bartender during a botched robbery had been released from custody hours before the homicide, records show.

Jermichael Carroll, 29, was charged Wednesday with first-degree reckless homicide and attempted armed robbery in the death of 22-year-old Dylan Steffen.

The charges were filed the same day a public memorial for Steffen took place at Myrhum-Patten Funeral & Cremation Service in West Bend.

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Carroll spent four days in the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility for violating the terms of his extended supervision on a drug case. The facility, which is similar to a jail, is operated by the state Department of Corrections.

He was released on May 30. Prosecutors say hours later, about 1:30 a.m. May 31, he shot and killed Steffen.

Steffen and a friend were walking on S. 2nd St. near W. Mitchell St. when a man armed with a gun came out of a school parking lot and put the friend in a headlock.

The man told Steffen's friend to follow him into the parking lot and empty his pockets, but the friend broke free. The friend told police as he and Steffen ran away, he heard a gunshot and turned to see Steffen on the sidewalk. He called 911.

Steffen was taken to the hospital where he died from a single gunshot wound to the back.

Police retrieved surveillance video mounted on a nearby school. The footage showed a white car with a dark-colored bumper and quarter panel damage arriving in the area moments before the shooting, then speeding away moments later.

Police released the images to local media and a resulting tip led police to find the car in the area of N. 2nd St. and W. North Ave., according to a criminal complaint.

Detectives tracked down the car's owner who said Carroll is a relative who was allowed to drive his car.

Carroll took the car the evening of May 30 and returned well after midnight with a handgun with fresh marks on the slide, consistent with having been recently fired, the car owner told police.

Carroll also told his relative he had had to "strip somebody," meaning he had robbed someone, according to the complaint.

Carroll was convicted of manufacturing or delivering cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, being a felon in possession of a firearm and felony bail jumping in a 2007 case. He was released from prison on extended supervision March 21.

He failed to charge his GPS bracelet, which resulted in the state Department of Corrections issuing an apprehension request, according to an agency spokesman.

Carroll was arrested by Milwaukee police on May 26 for the GPS violation and for possible use of marijuana and booked into the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility the same day.

He remained in custody until May 30, serving four days for the sanction, Tristan Cook, DOC spokesman, said in an email.

Steffen graduated from West Bend West High School in 2013 and attended Cardinal Stritch University. He worked at Sendik’s in West Bend, then at Kilwins in Glendale and also at "This Is It" bar in Milwaukee, according to his obituary.

Steffen was described as an outgoing person who "loved meeting new people."

"He was a very kind and generous person that never judged anyone," the obituary read. "Dylan has touched many people’s lives and will be missed by all who knew him."

A public visitation is taking place from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Myrhum Patten Miller & Kietzer Funeral Home, 1315 W. Washington St. in West Bend. A private family service will be held at a later time.