21-year-old Xavier Alexis Pérez Jr. Facing Up to 50 Years In Prison For The August 2024 Hit-and-run Death Of Tai Rosa Pérez, 38, In The Southside Of Milwaukee

Pérez who was driving Northbound on S. Muskego Ave. on early Monday and was struck head-on by a driver identified as Xavier Alexis Pérez Jr. (no relation to the victim) in a stolen SUV heading Southbound died hours after the crash, according to police.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

January 2, 2026

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - A Milwaukee County court final pre-trial has been set for February 19, 2026, for Xavier Alexis Pérez Jr., 21, for one count of 2nd-degree reckless homicide and one felony count of hit-and-run involving death for the August 26, 2024 death of Tai Rosa Pérez, 38, of Oak Creek. Pérez Jr. is not related to the victim.

If convicted on both felony counts, Pérez Jr. is facing up to 25 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines, or both, for each count. A $100,000 cash bail was set for Pérez Jr..

Pérez Jr. was taken into custody a year later after the hit-and-run crash that kill Pérez.

Pérez Jr. was criminally charged on June 9, 2025, and was arrested on an open felony warrant in July 2025. 

Pérez, the victim died at a local hospital several hours after the hit-and-run crash at the 2000 block of S. Muskego Ave. in the Southside of Milwaukee.

According to the criminal complaint, police say Pérez Jr. was heading Southbound on S. Muskego Ave. at a high rate of speed (70 mph, according to vehicle's computer data) in a stolen Cadillac SUV (reported stolen on August 23, 2024 at Brady and Marshall Streets), when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed head-on into Pérez who was heading Northbound.

Pérez Jr. and a passenger (identified as his girlfriend) on the stolen SUV fled the scene after the crash. The motor of the SUV was located about 175 feet from the crash, according to police.

Police located Pérez Jr.'s girlfriend after an anonymous tip identified both of them. At first she denied being at the crash scene, but blood DNA found inside the Cadillac confirmed she was at the scene with Pérez Jr. Also, she had left her cellphone inside the Cadillac.

Nearby outdoor surveillance cameras footage captured the fatal crash and both Pérez Jr. and his girlfriend running from the scene after the crash.