MILWAUKEE– 23-year-old Joseph Macias is criminally charged with battery of an elder after allegedly beating a 99-year-old woman while breaking into her Milwaukee home.
According to the criminal complaint, a LifeAlert system called 911 at 5:16 a.m. on Monday, July 27. Milwaukee Police responded to the home near 14th and Cudahy nearly three hours after the initial call.
After multiple 911 calls, around 8 a.m., an officer entered the home through an unlocked back door and found Macias lying on the living room floor.
The officer heard an elderly woman but did not see her.
Police told Macias to show his hands; according to the complaint, he responded by saying, “what are you doing bro? You know I don’t care about dying, right?”.
Macias referred to the elder woman as his grandma multiple times during his arrest.
Officers found the woman in a separate room, covered in blood, bruised with swollen eyes, and with a mouth swollen to the point that she had difficulty speaking.
She had cuts all over her arms, and she was yelling in pain. The wall and carpets were covered in blood, and a trail of blood led from the kitchen into the living room.
A lamp and various items were broken on the floor.
According to the complaint, the woman told investigators that she woke up to a loud bang on her door.
She said she opened the door and was attacked by a man who forced her onto the floor, then repeatedly kicked, pushed, and swore at her.
The woman said she was unable to get up, and the man briefly laid on the couch, then got up and began throwing things.
At the hospital, the woman was treated for two broken bones in the jaw and for multiple bruises and cuts covering her face and body. Additionally, the victim had a fully inserted skirt pin removed from her left foot.
The complaint said Macias apologized to investigators and said: “I know I’m not innocent. I know I’m gonna have to pay the consequences to my actions, you know?” and claimed he was “not in the right state of mind”.
Macias admitted to investigators that he was heavily drinking at the bar before the incident.
Investigators said nothing appeared to be stolen from the house.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office charged Macias with felony battery of an elder, first-degree reckless injury and burglary of a building or dwelling.
Macias can face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
