In the early hours of October 18, 2025, an all-night poker game at a home near West Appleton Avenue and West Ruby Avenue in Milwaukee turned into a nightmare. What began as a gathering of friends evolved into a fatal chain of events after a masked figure appeared at the front door—and two men died in the chaos.
Thirty-five-year-old Donovan Jones is now charged with two counts of first-degree reckless homicide. Prosecutors say Jones opened fire after believing someone was trying to rob the house, but his shots instead struck his friends and fellow players.
According to the criminal complaint, the night began like many others: Jones and two others—identified as Dwayne Carter (43) and Shaquille “Shaq DJ” Madison (33) or Madison (33) in media reports—played poker at the residence. As the game stretched into the morning, power went out in the house, leaving them nervous. When light returned, and as players were cleaning up, one of them went outside to take out the trash and reportedly returned saying someone wearing a ski mask was trying to break in.
Jones says he retreated into the basement under the stairs with his gun, while Carter and Madison hid in a different part of the basement. From there, Jones said he heard footsteps and a dark silhouette he believed was the intruder—he fired multiple times, though he didn’t see the person he shot at.
When police arrived, Carter was found dead in the basement. Madison had emerged outside, fell on the front lawn and later died in hospital. At the scene, authorities recovered nine spent 9 mm shell casings which preliminary ballistics linked to the gun Jones admitted using. There was no evidence of any return fire.
Investigators also noted the setting: the basement featured two large poker tables, whiteboards on the walls with posted house rules, open liquor bottles and snacks leftover from the night. Outside, officers found a backpack with about $8,330 and a handgun, and inside, about $5,230 and handguns. No money was reported missing.
In a hearing, the court commissioner acknowledged the severe consequences of the case but also pointed out its unusual nature—“a tragic case of mistaken identity,” where the defendant believed he was acting to defend himself. Bond was set at $35,000 cash, lower than the $250,000 requested by prosecutors. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 31.
As the criminal process unfolds, the players, friends and their families are left grappling with an ordinary night gone horribly wrong, and a city once again confronting how fear and firearms intersect in moments of panic and tragedy.
