'This is a young girl that was going places': Teen sentenced to 22 years in the shooting death of 12-year-old Olivia Schultz

Emotions ran high on Thursday at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, when an 18-year-old Milwaukee man was sentenced to more than two decades behind bars in connection to the shooting death of 12-year-old Olivia Schultz, who was killed while her family unloaded groceries outside her home.

Benjamin Garrett pleaded guilty in March to first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree recklessly endangering safety in the shooting of Olivia's mother, Celeste Wilson, who was shot in the back in the incident.

The sentencing hearing was delayed after a "brawl" broke out in the hallway outside the courtroom, as Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro put it. Suddenly, family and friends of Garrett and Schultz began to scuffle as the 40 or so people in the gallery rushed out to the hallway to get in on the action. Many sheriff's deputies appeared rather quickly.

Yamahiro commenced the hearing roughly 45 minutes after its scheduled start time, but not before requiring everyone except parents of both parties and the media to leave the courthouse. He then entered the brawl into the record.

Olivia's death happened Oct. 10 on the 5300 block of North 37th Street, shortly after the family got back from grocery shopping.

According to prosecutors:

The family's vehicle was parked in the alley behind the home, when two young, masked teens approached.

Wilson's husband, Darryl Schultz, stared at the teens, prompting one male to say "Can I get my face back?" and then one male pulled down his mask allowing family members to see his face. Darryl Schultz then carried a grocery bag into the house.

While Darryl Schultz was inside the home, one of the teens pulled out a gun. Wilson pled with the gunman to not do anything because it wouldn't be worth it. The teens continued walking and the family continued to help unload the vehicle.

When the teens were about four houses away, Wilson said the person she interacted with began shooting at her and her family. As she turned to take cover, she was shot in the back, and Olivia was fatally struck.

Police were not able to determine which of the two teens fired the fatal shot, but brought first-degree homicide charges against both of them. Prosecutors brought the same charges as Garrett's against 17-year-old Cornell Henard in December in connection to the incident.

Henard argues that Darryl Schultz brought a gun from inside the home and started shooting at the two teens first, then the teens fired back. Darryl Schultz denies having a gun prior to the gunfire but admits retrieving his gun from inside the home after the teens' gunfire, and then he chased after the teens. Henard is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on June 16.

Olivia's parents speak from the heart, no script

Darryl Schultz was confronted by Yamahiro about his gun at the end of his victim statement. "You told the Department of Corrections that you had a gun on you, and you showed it to them, before the shooting," Yamahiro said.

"No, sir," Darryl Schultz responded. "I didn't show them no gun, sir. I didn't show them no gun, sir. I just told them to leave. I had no gun."

Darryl Schultz struggled to get through his statement, which was impromptu. He said he's been torn up about the situation because he feels he failed as a father. "They had every opportunity to shoot me right there. ... I was willing to stand up for that," he said.

Both of Olivia's parents spoke at the hearing. Wilson started her impromptu speech by apologizing for the hallway scuffle prior to the hearing, saying she and Garrett's mother had a moment that felt needed.

"Just like I told his mom, when we were talking, we both lose. I know how it feels for a 17-year-old son to be sitting over there. I know how it feels. But I never knew how it feels to lose one. But guess what ... she gets to talk to him. He gets to watch TV. He gets to play basketball. ... My baby is in a cemetery," Wilson said through tears.

Wilson then turned her attention to Garrett. "Mr. Garrett, you had no reason to shoot at us. I'm sorry, but you had no reason to shoot at us," she said. "What if I told you she didn't even cry. Only thing she said was 'They shot me too, Momma.' ... I've seen my baby take her last breath in my backyard."

Garrett took responsibility for his actions

Yamahiro believes Garrett took responsibility for his actions when he entered a guilty plea; prosecutors felt otherwise. Garrett did apologize to the family in his statement. "I want to send out my condolences to the family of Olivia. I'm sorry for your loss," he said.

"A mother and a father is missing their daughter. The siblings is missing a sister. The grandparents is missing a grandchild. ... I've caused the death of an innocent human being, an innocent young girl," Garrett said.

Garrett's attorney initially insisted that Garrett's mother, Teisha McCoy, not speak on behalf of Garrett. However McCoy insisted and Yamahiro said she should speak if Garrett wants her to, which he approved.

She began by apologizing for the altercation in the hallway, and then immediately issued condolences to Wilson. "As (Wilson) said, we did get a chance to speak," McCoy said. "My heart really does go out to the family. Because like she said she lost her baby forever."

She shared a lot about Garrett's environment on a everyday basis. He currently is without a home, after she kicked him out for "disrespect," she said. "I was very hard on my kids, all of them. ... (Garrett) had to learn a lesson."

McCoy said Garrett has a documented history with poor mental health. Court documents show that a couple hours prior to Olivia's death Garrett witnessed a friend being shot. Yamahiro said that is a reason to put the gun down, not fire one again.

Garrett once shared with a medical professional that he believes he yearns to have his father in his life, who McCoy said left when Garrett was just a toddler. McCoy is a single mom with eight children.

Yamahiro made his ruling

A fatherless home was one of the targets of fault for Yamahiro when he made his ruling. "I would say at least 75% of young men that come in here have no relationship with their father, or their father is locked up," he said.

"There are so many Black women trying to basically get their children to maturity without being dead. That's what it comes down to," Yamahiro said, adding, "I'm going to be the last one for criticizing you for putting him out."

"This is what is has come down to. You can't even look at anybody, or you may get shot. ... We're stealing our own future here. This is a young girl that was going places."

Yamahiro said this case wasn't worthy of the maximum penalty, saying Garrett's age is a factor in that decision. Prosecutors argued for 17 to 20 years of initial confinement, while the defense argued for 12 to 15 years.

Ultimately, Yamahiro ruled Garrett will serve more time than the state sought. He sentenced Garrett to 22 years in prison and six years of extended supervision for the homicide charge. He will serve five years in prison and five years of extended supervision for the reckless injury charge, which will be concurrent to the 22 years.

Wilson said her daughter was going places

Wilson said she found "some justice" in the ruling, but she was a little disappointed with the ruling. She said other than the fact that Garrett will have to spend his first two decades of adulthood in prison, which she feels bad about, it is hard for her to feel too much remorse since she lost Olivia.

Wilson said her daughter was as outspoken as she is. "How could you sum up a person that you love so much in so little time?" Wilson asked the judge.

Wilson was very protective of her youngest of six children. "She never really talked back. ... My daughter never got to even ride her bike around the block without supervision. She never even got to walk to the corner store by herself." Those key moments that come with growing up.

Olivia enjoyed watching the Disney Channel, and had multiple "perfect attendance" awards. She wanted to be a veterinarian and a foster parent, her mother said.

"We had a bond that (was) out this world ... because when we had Olivia, when I was in labor, I almost lost my life," Wilson said. High blood pressure and a declining heart made delivering birth risky for Wilson.

Olivia had an infectious smile, her mother said. "She's always got good ideas, helpful, understanding. She's just, I want to say, an angel."

Wilson said if she could say one thing to the Milwaukee community it would be to let your aggression out in different formats, like the sport of boxing, and to put the guns down. "Let's have a safe summer," she said. "Parents are not supposed to be burying their kids."

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS. 

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