MILWAUKEE (Scripps News Milwaukee) — A Milwaukee woman has been charged in the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old pharmacy student.
Jamica Mills, 31, was charged Saturday with one count of first-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, according to a criminal complaint.
Jamica Mills (L) is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of her friend, Ariel Spillner (R). (Milwaukee County Jail, Scripps News Milwaukee)
Prosecutors say Mills claims to have accidentally shot and killed her friend, Ariel Spillner, after she said she had become paranoid that Spillner would stab her after the two had smoked marijuana together.
According to the criminal complaint, when officers arrived at the residence around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday near 39th Street and Lancaster Avenue, they found Mills lying on her back with a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
Spillner was found unresponsive and facedown with a gunshot wound to her left shoulder and was later pronounced dead.
Prosecutors say Mills was combative at the scene as well as in the hospital, where she was treated for her injuries.
Investigators recovered a handgun and two spent casings from the scene. Prosecutors allege the gun was found near Mills, and that investigators also located a Ruger firearm box with purchase paperwork in her name, as well as ammunition matching the casings found near the crime scene.
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Her sister-in-law allegedly told investigators she was in the home at the time of the shooting and recalled hearing someone say, “**** you tripping,” before two gunshots rang out.
Prosecutors say Mills allegedly claimed not to remember what happened, and that the last thing she remembered was waking up in the living room and then being at the hospital.
Mills also claimed she and Spillner were talking about Spillner’s boyfriend when she heard a shot and “felt a shot,” initially claiming she thought Spillner shot her first. However, according to the complaint, Mills would later allegedly admit to retrieving a gun from her bedroom before returning to the living room.
She claims to have shot Spillner after she made a hand motion, despite telling investigators she didn’t see Spillner with scissors and that she hadn’t made threats toward her, according to the complaint.
Mills was in court Sunday, where her cash bond was set at $150,000, according to court records.
She is due back in court on Nov. 17 for a preliminary hearing.
This story was originally written by Scripps News Milwaukee, an E.W. Scripps Company.
