The suspect charged with shooting and injuring a man Sept. 24 near 9th and Wells Streets pleaded not guilty in court Monday afternoon.
Marcel Romeo Vanlandingham, 19, is charged with first-degree reckless injury for the incident, which left a 19-year-old victim with nonfatal gunshot wounds to the upper right thigh and left wrist area. Vanlandingham also faces penalties for using a dangerous weapon.
The defendant will face trial in felony court. His next court appearance is Oct. 29 for a scheduling conference, in which the judge and attorneys will set a plan for pretrial. If convicted, Vanlandingham could face up to 30 years in the Wisconsin prison system and a fine of up to $100,000.
Defense attorney Margaret Johnson declined to comment on Monday’s plea decision.
The Sept. 24 shooting caused a brief lockdown in Straz Tower, a Marquette residence hall housing underclassmen. Students received a safety alert around 4:15 p.m. that day about the shooting, which took place near the east side of campus.
Vanlandingham was previously barred from possessing a gun or other dangerous weapon after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct related to a March 19 incident.
In that case, Vanlandingham posted a Snapchat video showing someone loading bullets into a gun magazine clip, according to the criminal complaint.
The caption of the video read, “I will expose this b—- on everything” and “MFS really think ONM, I’m really gonna kill that b—-.”
MFS is slang for “motherf—— silly,” and ONM is slang for “on my momma,” according to the complaint.
A secretary at Milwaukee School of Excellence notified police of the video. A student approached the secretary after seeing the video and fearing for her friend, who was the targeted victim.
The upper lefthand area of the Snapchat video showed the name “Marcel.”
Police found the magazine clip featured in the video at Vanlandingham’s residence. When an officer called Vandlandingham about the incident, the defendant claimed he “thought he deleted that video.”
Vandlandingham was sentenced to 30 days in the House of Corrections, one year of probation and 25 community service hours, according to online court records.
