25-year-old man sentenced to 19 years in prison for killing Ronald 'Hollywood' Butler following a road rage incident in Milwaukee

The man who shot and killed Ronald Butler in front of his children after engaging in road rage will spend 19 years behind bars.

Demetreon Caston-Townsend, 25, pleaded guilty to a homicide charge in January . Butler's sister, Romonia Butler-Foster, at the time said it was a relief to hear Caston-Townsend take responsibility for his actions. "To hear him tell the judge 'I'm guilty," ... that 'I'm the one guilty of this crime' ... it was just a release," she said. "I needed to hear that."

However, Butler-Foster said she no longer feels that way. She said at Tuesday's hearing, Caston-Townsend apologized to the family but didn't take ownership of his actions.

"He apologized to our family," Butler-Foster said. "But he threw a 'but' in at the end of it, saying 'I am not the shooter. I am not the one who did this.' It was like a slap in the face. How can you take ownership of something and then throw a 'but' in there?"

"I was there in January and it was a complete turnaround," she added. "So Tuesday was discouraging."

Butler, who also went by "Hollywood," was shot and killed following road rage with Caston-Townsend in the 8900 block of West Mill Road in July 2022. The shooting happened in front of four of Butler's children, at the time, ages 2, 9 and 10-year-old twins. Butler-Foster and other family members took to the streets of Milwaukee, participating in marches, seeking justice for Butler, 50.

According to a criminal complaint, a Chevy Equinox ran the red light and almost collided with Butler's van; one of Butler's twin sons noted in the document the vehicle sped past and almost hit them. The son said their dad yelled at the car to stop speeding because there are kids in the car. That’s when the son said he heard a “pew” sound, then saw his dad was hurt and slumped over, the complaint said.

On Tuesday, Caston-Townsend was sentenced to 19 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision, according to online records. The court ordered $11,550 in restitution to Butler-Foster. Caston-Townsend's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Nineteen years is not enough time because he'll still be under 50 years old when he gets out," Butler-Foster said. "He can still have a full life. Men can still make children at 50. He already got kids, but he gets to have more if he chooses to. He can go to school if he wants to. He can do whatever he wants to do because he'll be free."

"And my brother has a death sentence. ... I don't get to visit him, hug him, talk to him on the phone and love on him. Now all we have is memories," she added.

"(Caston-Townsend) may have gotten 19 years here in Milwaukee courts, but he still has to deal with God. So his sentence is not done yet. It won't begin and it won't end in 19 years. His death day — that's when he'll start serving his real sentence."

Journal Sentinel reporters La Risa R. Lynch and Chris Ramirez contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 25-year-old man sentenced to 19 years in prison for killing Ronald 'Hollywood' Butler following a road rage incident in Milwaukee