MILWAUKEE, WI – A 15-year-old who prosecutors say orchestrated the armed abduction of a 7-year-old boy from his driveway pleaded guilty Wednesday, admitting to a reduced set of charges in a case that drew scrutiny from a judge who rejected an earlier plea deal as too lenient. The boy was taken at gunpoint in front of his father and held for ransom before being rescued about a day later.
Barry Alan Coleman pleaded guilty to one count of robbery with use of force and one count of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, according to court records. Prosecutors dismissed charges of kidnapping while using a dangerous weapon as a party to a crime and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, though those counts will be considered at sentencing.
Judge rejects earlier plea, cites severity of allegations
The plea follows Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski’s refusal to accept an earlier agreement that would have treated the case as a standard robbery. “The allegations here are that, candidly, the defendant kidnapped another child at gunpoint,” Borowski said during Wednesday’s hearing. “I was not going to accept plain robbery; I did not think that was appropriate.”
The revised agreement came after the court signaled the original resolution did not reflect the gravity of the alleged conduct. Coleman was 14 at the time of the July 2025 incident and was later charged as an adult.
Prosecutors have described Coleman as the “mastermind” of the plan, which initially targeted the child’s mother before shifting to the father and ultimately the child.
Surveillance, witness accounts detail abduction
According to a probable cause affidavit, the boy and his father were returning home from a park when a white Jeep Renegade pulled into their driveway, blocking their vehicle. An armed man dressed in black exited the SUV, prompting the father to run inside as the child fled toward the backyard.
“He heard his son continually screaming, ‘Daddy!’ and when he looked outside he observed the black male get back into the car and the car drove off with his son inside,” the affidavit states.
Investigators said surveillance video showed co-defendant Fabian Johnson pointing a handgun while Coleman, also armed, chased the boy, picked him up, and carried him back to the Jeep. Corey Williams is accused of driving the vehicle away.
Ransom demand and overnight captivity
Williams later told detectives that Coleman’s initial plan was to rob the boy’s mother, whom he claimed was “a well-known drug dealer” known to carry cash and drugs. When she did not return home, the plan shifted to the father, and then, after the father escaped, to kidnapping the child. Williams said Coleman declared “the plan had changed” and moved to hold the boy for ransom.
According to investigators, Johnson called the child’s mother and demanded $100,000 in cash and jewelry in exchange for the boy’s safe return. The child was held overnight at Williams’ residence. Williams told police there was discussion of harming the boy to reinforce the demand, but he objected and the idea was abandoned.
Police located and rescued the child roughly 24 hours after the abduction. The boy later told investigators he spent the time playing with toys, watching cartoons, and eating McDonald’s.
Coleman faces up to 25 years in prison, including 15 years of initial confinement and 10 years of extended supervision. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 9. Johnson and Williams also face charges related to the case.
