Prosecutors say the July case began as a planned robbery and turned into a gunpoint kidnapping.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A Milwaukee 14-year-old identified by prosecutors as Barry Coleman has been charged in adult court in the July kidnapping of a 7-year-old boy, a case that launched an AMBER Alert and a citywide search. The child was taken near North 61st and Hustis and found safe about a day later.
The filing places Coleman alongside two previously charged adults and caps months of hearings that started in children’s court. Prosecutors say Coleman organized the abduction and directed accomplices to snatch the boy while his father was distracted. A commissioner set bond at $100,000, the same figure authorities say the group discussed as ransom. The transfer to adult court signals the state’s view of the case’s seriousness and allows for felony charges that carry longer potential sentences if convicted.
Court documents describe a white vehicle pulling up to the home and two people with guns jumping out. One suspect chased the father; another grabbed the child and carried him to the vehicle as a doorbell camera recorded the scene. Prosecutor Janette Corbett called the episode “really a horrifying event” during Monday’s proceedings. Commissioner Barry Phillips, who set bond, said the city felt “held hostage” during the 24 hours the boy was missing. Investigators say the child was kept at a house several miles away before police located him unharmed.
The complaint lists charges against Coleman including kidnapping as party to a crime with use of a dangerous weapon, taking hostages, possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. Records say Coleman had recently been released to a residential treatment program in a prior heroin-related case when the abduction occurred. Prosecutors say the original plan targeted the boy’s mother, whom Coleman allegedly described as a “big-time drug dealer,” and that the plot escalated when he seized the child at gunpoint. Authorities say a recorded phone call with Coleman’s incarcerated father also discussed details of the crime.
Two men charged earlier — 25-year-old Corey Williams and 38-year-old Fabian Johnson — remain in adult court. Prior filings against the adults describe an attempted $100,000 payment, phone records, and surveillance images that investigators say tie the trio together. Police confirmed the AMBER Alert was issued in the hours after the abduction and canceled once the child was found the next day. The house where the boy was recovered sits on Milwaukee’s North Side, roughly seven miles from the block where he vanished.
The case drew attention in July after home surveillance video spread online showing the moment the child was grabbed as he rode a bike. Neighbors said the incident rattled the block, where children often play after dinner. “We were out looking until dark,” a resident said this week, adding that the neighborhood watched the search unfold in real time. Corbett said the child and family have support services in place as the criminal cases move ahead.
Coleman’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 8, in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Prosecutors said discovery will continue and that additional hearings for Williams and Johnson are expected later in December. No trial dates have been set. Coleman remains in secure custody on $100,000 bond as attorneys prepare for the next phase.
Author note: Last updated December 2, 2025.