Two suspects plead not guilty to beating couple, shooting woman in leg
By Vicky Wedig
Staff Writer
A fourth man – Jacob Curler, 33, of East Troy – was charged March 9 in connection with an October robbery in the Town of Troy in which a man was beaten and a woman was shot in the leg.
Curler is charged with armed robbery; first-degree reckless injury; substantial battery, intending bodily harm; and false imprisonment. He was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Tuesday.
Three other men – Drevon A. Grant, 19, and Jeremy L. Thomas, 26, both of Milwaukee, and Michael R. Kraft, 34, of Glendale – were charged with the same offenses in connection with the crime last month.
Grant pleaded not guilty to the charged Feb. 25 and is scheduled for a court appearance March 23. Kraft pleaded not guilty March 5 and is scheduled for a status conference May 1. A warrant was issued for Thomas’ arrest Feb. 10.
According to the criminal complaints, three men entered an apartment at Barley’s Hops and Malt in the Town of Troy on Oct. 20 and injured the residents. A detective spoke with one of the residents, Afrim Lika, at the hospital. Lika’s left eye was purple and swollen shut and he had dried blood on his face in several locations, several stitches closing a cut above his eye and a cut on his head behind his right ear, according to the complaint.
Lika told the detective he went to bed around 10:30 p.m. or 10:45 p.m. and was in his bedroom when two men allegedly entered the room with guns. He said the skinny robber yelled “Get up,” “Give me your money,” “This is a rape,” “Don’t move,” and “I’ll shoot you in the f—ing head,” according to the complaint.
Lika said he kicked the skinny robber in the arm and fought with him and then the second man. He said the skinnier man told the other man to tie up Lika’s wife, Altije Fejza, and Lika fought with both men, according to the complaint. Lika said the heavier man was going to tie Fejza with duct tape, and the heavier man beat Lika and Fejza, according to the complaint.
Lika said both men hit him with the bottom of their guns, and the fight moved from the bedroom to the living room where a third male intruder also fought with Lika. Lika said one man held a gun a short distance from his head, according to the complaint.
Lika said as he fought with the three men, Fejza helped stop the men from hitting Lika, and one of the men shot her in the leg, according to the complaint. A bullet entered Fejza’s thigh and exited her right calf, according to the complaint.
Another resident of the apartment, Mrgim Fejza, said he was in the living room when the three men entered. According to the complaint, Mrgim Fejza said one of the men pointed a gun at him and said, “This is a robbery, don’t move, don’t panic,” and bound Mrgim Fejza’s hands behind his back with zip ties and pushed the coffee table against his legs to he couldn’t move from the couch. Mrgim Fejza said one of the men went into his grandmother’s room and took two iPhones and keys to a 2011 Volkswagen sport utility vehicle.
Grant allegedly told an informant that he shot Altije Fejza, and the informant identified Grant in a photo lineup. On Feb. 3, Grant admitted participating in the robbery and said he saw the other robbers fight with Lika and saw one of the other robbers shoot Altije Fejza, according to the complaint.
Grant told police one of the other robbers was known as “White Boy Mike,” who was later identified as Kraft. Kraft was arrested Feb. 10 and told a detective he was “probably going away for a long time for this,” according to the criminal complaint. During an interview with the detective, Kraft allegedly acknowledged Curler was one of the robbers and said Curler anticipated getting $30,000 to $50,000 from the robbery.
During another interview Feb. 13, Kraft told a detective that “sh– broke way out of f—ing hand” and said, “You know we had the gun, you know what the f— happened,” according to the complaint.
