MILWAUKEE — The man police say killed five co-workers at one of the nation’s largest breweries before killing himself was accused of pointing a gun at an SUV and punching a woman in the face in the early 1990s, court documents show.
Anthony Ferrill, a 51-year-old electrician at Moslon Coors’ sprawling brewery complex on Milwaukee’s west side, walked into one of the brewery’s buildings Wednesday and gunned down five co-workers before shooting himself, police said.
Authorities have identified the victims as 60-year-old Dale Hudson; 61-year-old Gennady Levshetz; 57-year-old Dana Walk; 33-year-old Jesus Valle Jr.; and 33-year-old Trevor Wetselaar.
Ferrill’s motive remained unknown Friday.
Court documents indicate Ferrill was charged with disorderly conduct in 1991. He was accused of pointing a gun at a Ford Bronco that pulled up alongside him at a stoplight in downtown Milwaukee, causing the Bronco’s driver and passengers to duck down in fear and race away through a red light. Ferrill was 22 at the time.
The charges were dismissed. The documents didn’t explain why. Ferrill’s attorney in the case, Thomas Halloran, said he didn’t remember much about the case but he thinks prosecutors found Ferrill’s accusers weren’t credible and that they may have been trying to get him in trouble as payback for a previous dispute.
“It was a pretty brief thing,” Halloran said. “There was a dispute or disagreement and someone came in and complained to the police about his conduct and when it was investigated it was hard to tell who was telling the truth. It was one of those cases where you could give everyone a lie detector test and they’d pass. It was based on perceptions.”
Four years later, in 1995, he was charged with misdemeanor battery after a woman accused him of punching her in the mouth. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered not to have any contact with the woman. The charge was eventually dismissed. Court documents didn’t say why and Ferrill’s attorney in the case, listed as Peter Heflin, didn’t immediately return a message Friday.
A doctor’s report included in a 2015 lawsuit when Ferrill filed for compensation following a car accident sheds more light on his past. He lost a daughter in 2009 after she was born premature, drank three beers a week and didn’t use tobacco, the report said. He had suffered chronic lower back pain since his 20s but told doctors he didn’t suffer from headaches or any cognitive problems.
The report said he did not suffer from anxiety or depression and he described his emotions as “good.”
