“Kia Boyz” Film Results In Felony Charges

Committing a crime on video has consequences. Especially when you brag about it on the phone from jail.

Relying on at least two tips, a recorded call from jail, a bystander video of the aftermath of a stolen car crashing into a school bus, police reports from two other cities, recovered vehicles and, pivotally, a 16-minute “documentary” by Tom Gerszewski, the Milwaukee Police Department arrested 17-year-old Markell S. Hughes on June 9.

Hughes, according to a criminal complaint, is the driver of the stolen, red Hyundai Elantra vehicle shown speeding the wrong way down a one-way street before crashing into a street sign and residential front yard in Gerszweski’s video. The vehicle later almost hits a pedestrian while running a red light with a teen hanging out the window and another sitting on the hood.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office issued criminal charges against Hughes June 16. He faces a felony charge for driving a vehicle without consent, a first-degree felony charge for recklessly endangering safety, a felony charge for bail jumping and a misdemeanor charge for resisting arrest.

Milwaukee is experiencing record levels of vehicle thefts, primarily of Kia and Hyundai vehicles that can be easily stolen because of a lack of an immobilizer key (key fob) and easy-to-turnover ignition. More than half of those arrested for vehicle theft are under the age of 18.

Relying on an anonymous tip that he was the driver shown in Gerszewski’s video, uploaded to YouTube May 31, and other evidence, MPD arrested Hughes for his actions in the video. They knew where to find him: he was arrested on May 30 and had to appear in court on June 9 for those charges.

MPD arrested Hughes for the second time in as many weeks as he was leaving a preliminary court hearing. For the first case, he faces a felony charge of attempted vehicle theft and misdemeanor charges for being a passenger in a stolen vehicle and resisting or obstructing an officer. He was out on a $1,000 signature bond in that case.

He’s now in jail on a $10,000 cash bond.

The tip that Hughes was the driver in the “documentary” video was verified by police because Hughes was talking about the video while in custody on June 6. “I heard my video went viral too. I heard my shit hit 50K in one day. The video has close to 500,000 views after two weeks,” he allegedly says on a jail phone.

When questioned about his second arrest, Hughes said he doesn’t steal cars. But he allegedly agreed with a detective’s statement of “you just drive them.”

The teens engaged in vehicle theft aren’t clueless as to how they can be caught.

“Make sure you all blur out all the plates, because they will charge us with that sh*t,” says the main subject of the video, who is not identified in the criminal complaint. That same individual, who says he goes by “Mr. E. Brake,” also explains the need to wear gloves.

But Gerszewski didn’t blur out every instance of the plate. Nor did Hughes always wear gloves. His prints, according to MPD, have been found on six vehicles not related to these incidents as well as a vehicle connected to the video.

The complaint says the license plate of the Elantra was matched to one reported stolen from the Hawthorn Suites hotel on W. College Ave. in Oak Creek. It was a rented vehicle that was stolen sometime between the night of May 16 and May 17. A blue Kia Seltos was stolen on May 17 from the far west side of Wauwatosa.

Both vehicles then appear in a May 17 video recorded in the aftermath of a crash between the Kia and a school bus with eight children on it. According to the complaint, Hughes is shown getting out of the Elantra along with others. One of the individuals retrieves items and helps a female out of the Kia. The school bus crash occurred within blocks of the filming of Gerszweski’s video.

An incident involving a crash is referenced in that video.

E Brake and Hughes appear in the video with a group of other teenagers, but the “Kia Boyz” aren’t a coordinated gang. The name is a catch-all phrase that gained traction on social media and now has gained widespread use. Gerszewski titled his video using the slang term, and it’s now widely used in the media.

There were a record 10,479 vehicle thefts in 2021 in Milwaukee, a 132% increase over 2020. Two-thirds of all vehicles stolen are made by Kia or Hyundai. The vehicles, Kias from 2011 on and Hyundais from 2015 on, have a series of flaws that make them more susceptible to theft. Rear windows not connected to alarm systems can be smashed. Most significantly, unlike many newer vehicles, many Kia and Hyundais use a traditional key instead of a push-button start with an immobilizer chip in a fob. Kia and Hyundai have provided free steering wheel locks to the Milwaukee Police Department to be given away, but that hasn’t stopped many vehicles from being broken into or having locks broken off.

E Brake doesn’t think it is going to slow down.

“Bloody summer, a lot of [n-word]s going to die,” he says, claiming he knows people who have stolen more than 200 cars.

Hughes faces up to 22 years and nine months in prison.

A preliminary hearing in his latest case is scheduled for July 22. A scheduling conference on his first case is scheduled for August 30. Both cases are assigned to Judge Danielle Shelton. Hughes is represented by public defenders.

Amidst all the information in the complaint, at least one part of the timeline doesn’t add up. According to the criminal complaint, the jail call where Hughes discusses the viral video was placed June 6. However, Hughes was reported as released on June 3. He wasn’t arrested the second time until appearing at his June 9 hearing. The complaint does not suggest police were monitoring Hughes’ calls to people in jail.

Gerszweski, in an Instagram post, debates the accuracy of the claim that Hughes can be seen in the video. “Do you recognize this kid from the Kia Boys video? Because I don’t,” said in a story (temporary post).

Another recent post shows Gerszweski inside Northridge Mall, another polarizing Milwaukee topic that is the center of its own legal battle.

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