Milwaukee man painted car to disguise it after hit-and-run crash that killed young sisters, prosecutors say

Sophie Carson | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The 19-year-old Milwaukee man prosecutors say hit three children while speeding through a red light spray-painted his car black to disguise it and characterized the crash as "a rookie mistake," new charges say.

Prosecutors charged Daetwan C. Robinson in last week's crash that killed two young sisters, ages 4 and 6, and seriously injured their 10-year-old cousin with two counts of hit-and-run involving death, another count of hit-and-run involving great bodily harm and three counts of second-degree reckless homicide and injury.

Robinson appeared in court Friday and Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Grace Flynn set bail at $500,000.

According to a criminal complaint:

Surveillance video from Oct. 24 shows Robinson's car heading eastbound on West Center Street "at such a speed that it appears to be fishtailing and on two wheels only just prior to impact."

A'Lisa "Lisa" Z. Gee, 6, Amea N. Gee, 4, and their cousin, Drevyze Rayford, were holding hands as they crossed Center Street at North 22nd Street about 5:30 p.m. Robinson pulled around several others stopped at a red light and struck the children in the crosswalk.

Two children were "sent flying" and Robinson continued east.

Lisa died that evening. Amea died Tuesday night from her injuries. Drevyze was seriously injured and returned home Thursday.

After the crash police found a broken piece of car bumper with an identification number that indicated it would be a 2007-2009 Saturn Aura. Witnesses reported it was a dark gray car with tinted windows. Police asked the public to identify the driver.

One day later a tipster called police to report she had seen the car posted for sale before the crash on a social media page belonging to Robinson.

Police arrested Robinson Oct. 25 at his home. Investigators found the car in a detached garage along with multiple cans of black spray paint. The broken piece of bumper fit perfectly on the car, and there was evidence the dark tint was washed off the windows and the inside of the car was wiped down to remove fingerprints.

Police later learned in interviews that two men arrived at the garage on the afternoon of Oct. 25 with the cans of spray paint. They arrested one man at his home with black paint on his hands.

Robinson told a confidential informant after the crash that he had hit "the three kids” and that he made “a rookie mistake.” He told another person that he was in a "fender-bender."

Investigators also found that Robinson did not have a driver's license. His license was suspended Oct. 15 for a year after he did not pay a $174 speeding ticket. He received the ticket June 4 at North 27th and West Cherry streets, according to municipal court records.

If convicted of all charges, Robinson faces up to 127 years in prison.

On the day of the crash, Robinson had appeared in a Washington Post story on a Milwaukee group known as BLOC, or Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, that is focused on increasing voter turnout in the city's poorest neighborhoods.

Robinson and two of his older brothers, who work as BLOC ambassadors, and their mother, who is also involved in BLOC, are pictured in the story.

Destiny Foster, the girls' mother, condemned Robinson's actions in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"I'm torn to pieces with the man saying he made a rookie mistake," the statement reads. "I want him to know he made a foolish mistake, and I hope that at the young age he is, they give him the maximum time so he knows how it feels to hurt so bad at a young age like my babies did."

Foster also said she was thankful Drevyze is recovering, but "it hurts that he will have to deal with losing his cousins."

A spokeswoman for the girls' family said funeral services have been scheduled for Monday at Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, 2505 W. Cornell St., in Milwaukee.

Visitation starts at 10 a.m., and the funeral at noon.

A GoFundMe account for the Gee family has raised more than $13,000.

Milwaukee police released a statement Friday after Robinson was charged:

"Milwaukee Police would like to take this time to thank our community for assisting in this investigation and we are praying for the victims’ families. In order to prevent tragedies like these from occurring in the future, all motorists must obey traffic laws. Those who believe they are above the law and cause death of another due to reckless driving will be criminally charged to the fullest extent of the law."

Journal Sentinel reporter Bruce Vielmetti contributed to this report.

Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SCarson_News.