By Shereen Siewert
Wausau police have arrested a 22-year-old Milwaukee man, a convicted felon, on multiple felony charges following a shooting early Tuesday in Wausau.
No one was injured. Police recovered three 9-mm casings in the road at the scene, which was shut down by officers for a short period during the investigation.
Police were called just before 3 a.m. Dec. 3 to an area on McIntosh Street near the Wausau Police Department for a report of shots fired; additional officers and a detective were called in a short time later. Jemetrius J. Farmer, Jr., faces charges of first degree recklessly endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm as a felon, three counts of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer in connection with the shooting.
Farmer appeared Dec. 5 in Marathon County Circuit Court and was ordered held on a $50,000 cash bond.
Police say the shooting stemmed from a confrontation in the 900 block of South 25th Avenue a short time earlier. While at the 25th Avenue apartment, Farmer allegedly pulled out a gun twice, a one point aiming the weapon at the chest of another man at the residence. Witnesses told police they saw a “laser sight” on the gun being activated.
A short time later two men visiting the residence left with a woman. While they were driving, they were allegedly confronted by Farmer, who got out of his car and fired a gun several times. A nearby resident heard the shots and called in the report.
Officers in the area saw a vehicle driving away from the scene and followed the vehicle to the 25th Avenue apartment, where Farmer was detained.
During an interview, Farmer, who is on probation stemming from an unrelated incident, denied having a gun and denied firing the shots, telling officers if he went to jail he would “raise hell” and that “all hell is going to break loose,” according to the police report.
“He said he has 11 years over his head for guns now and any new gun charge will get him smoked,” the police report states.
Farmer did not have a weapon in his possession when he was taken into custody on a probation hold, but a gun was found hours later in a snowbank near the 25th Avenue apartment complex, according to court documents.
Online court records show Farmer’s probation is part of a plea agreement reached in March in Milwaukee County, where he was convicted of possession of a firearm as an adjudicated juvenile delinquent felon, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct. In the Milwaukee case, Farmer was given a withheld sentence for 18 months probation, but could face an additional penalty if he is convicted of new charges in Marathon County.
A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 16.
