article

KENOSHA, Wis. – Kenosha police announced Friday, Nov. 22, the arrest of Lawrence Franklin, a man accused in September 6 killing of a pregnant woman.

Franklin was arrested in Plano, Texas by the United States Marshals Service Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force with assistance from the Plano Police Department, according to a news release. Franklin will attend an extradition hearing in Texas before being transported back to Kenosha.

Case details

Prosecutors say Franklin used a gun purchased by Kaliyah Patterson to shoot and kill Amiah Prather.

Prather, 22, was shot on 65th Street near 13th Avenue. Police responded and found her in an SUV leaning against a concrete overpass pillar. She was 8 months pregnant, according to a criminal complaint, and both she and the unborn child died.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Investigators believe Lawrence shot and killed Prather; the complaint states that they “had been seeing each other for several years.” Kenosha Police said that while his actions were not random, they want everyone to know that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Prosecutors said the video showed a man wearing a brown hoodie, later identified as Franklin, running away from Prather’s SUV as it rolled into the pole. The man returned to the SUV a short time later and appeared to be holding a gun in one hand and a bottle of alcohol in the other.

Near the scene, the complaint states, officers found what appeared to be the same bottle of alcohol Franklin was holding. A gun was found 37 meters away from the glass.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

Investigators traced the gun to Patterson, according to the complaint. Records showed it was bought earlier that day in Paddock Lake. Surveillance video from that store showed Franklin with Patterson as he made the purchase. It also showed that Franklin gave Patterson a credit card to make the purchase.

Once in custody, prosecutors said Patterson admitted Franklin asked him to buy the gun. She said she filled out the purchase form because she had never been convicted of a crime — but Franklin paid for it. She said she didn’t know Franklin was a convicted felon, but she did know he had been arrested before.

Patterson is charged with one count of conspiracy to purchase a firearm.