A Wisconsin man has been arrested after he grew upset with his upstairs neighbor’s noise and fatally shot the victim in front of his teenage son.
Joshua Jordan was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, operating a vehicle to flee or elude an officer, and first-degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with the death of 42-year-old Gregory McElwee Jr., according to online records viewed by Us Weekly.
The incident took place on Wednesday, May 27, at an apartment complex, where Jordan, 32, lived on the first floor and Gregory McElwee Jr. lived directly above him.
Court documents viewed by Law & Crime indicate that the two men had ongoing disagreements, and their landlord told investigators “that over the last month, the Defendant has been complaining about the victim being too loud at all hours of the day and night.”
The landlord claimed that Jordan sent him several concerning text messages about McElwee, 42, including one in which he “threatened to kill the victim.” On the day of the shooting around 8:25 a.m., the landlord said that Jordan called him “complaining about noise in the victim’s apartment.”
About 30 minutes later, Jordan called the landlord to say that if he “would not deal with the noise, the Defendant would take care of it himself.”
McElwee lived in the apartment with his teenage son, who told authorities that his father was at work on the morning of May 27 until he came home around 9:40 a.m.
The son told authorities that “his dad had previously told him that their downstairs neighbor had contacted the landlord and was making a noise complaint about them, which has been an ongoing issue between the victim and that particular neighbor,” according to the complaint.
The teen added that when McElwee got home, he heard his father and Jordan “arguing in the hallway” of the building. The son got closer to the door and started recording the interaction, which was when he noticed Jordan was “armed with a black handgun.”
Jordan was “yelling threats at the victim, and the victim was walking away,” according to the son. Jordan then reportedly “started firing shots at the victim” and McElwee “ran to their apartment and shut the door.” However, Jordan allegedly continued to shoot at him “and kicked the door open.”
After the son managed to close the door and lock it, he saw that his father had been shot in the chest. The son then called 911, noting that his father “did not say anything as he couldn’t speak after he had been shot.”
Officers then reported to the scene, where they found McElwee “with apparent gunshot wounds to his chest.” Emergency personnel tried to save him, but he was ultimately pronounced dead.
After police evaluated the area and spoke to another neighbor, they determined there was enough evidence to deem Jordan the suspect.
Jordan allegedly drove away in a black Audi before police responded to the complex. Authorities then searched for the vehicle, which they followed for four miles until he crashed. He was then arrested.
It is not currently clear if Jordan has entered a plea or retained legal counsel. The Milwaukee Police Department did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the case.
Jordan is next scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 11.
