Attempted homicide charge dropped after alleged victim’s story changes | criminality

The attempted first-degree intentional homicide charge against Aaliyah C. Randle, 25, of Madison, was dismissed on Friday by Dane County Circuit Judge Nicholas McNamara without prejudice, meaning that at at some point the charge could be filed again, though Assistant District Attorney Dan Hess was skeptical that would ever happen.

Randle allegedly shot the man on September 14, 2020 at the Super 8, 4756 Hayes Road. A criminal complaint was unclear as to what caused the shooting, but Randle’s attorney, Michael Short, said he was prepared to argue the shooting was in self-defense.

At a motion hearing on Friday, Hess told McNamara that the man initially told Hess he would not testify unless he received an agreement in his own ongoing criminal cases, but Hess has refused. Hess said the man later agreed to testify, but then gave a statement that was “not credible”.

“He completely changed his statement about what happened before the shooting,” Hess said.

After aligning this with the other evidence in the case, Hess said, “Put simply, this case can no longer be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The man’s credibility, Hess said, “wasn’t there anymore, to be frank.”

Hess said before speaking to the man that he believed he had a provable case, even with the allegation of self-defense. He said evidence that Randle wanted the jury to hear about the things the man did to her was not factored into his decision to dismiss the attempted homicide charge.

Randle pleaded guilty to an unrelated armed robbery charge and was sentenced to four years probation, to run concurrently with a one-year jail term she received after pleading guilty to six misdemeanor charges of retail theft. A group of retail theft charges were referred to Dane County Drug Court as part of the plea deal.

Short said Randle’s problems revolved around drugs. The man she was accused of shooting, he said, was her drug dealer. Bringing her to drug court while she’s in jail, he said, would help get her once-promising life back on track.

“I think she has all the tools to thrive in the community, to do the right thing, to find a good job, to be a good mother,” Short said. “It’s just that she needs to make better choices and look carefully at this addiction and get the help she needs to deal with it.”