Barry Coleman, 15, remains charged in an adult case tied to the abduction of 7-year-old Jamal White.
MILWAUKEE, WI — A Milwaukee County judge on Monday rejected a plea deal for 15-year-old Barry Coleman, who is charged in adult court in the 2025 kidnapping of 7-year-old Jamal White.
Judge David Borowski refused to accept an agreement that would have allowed Coleman to plead guilty to robbery and face a far lower maximum prison term than the charges now carry. The decision kept open one of Milwaukee’s most closely watched child abduction cases from last summer, when an Amber Alert and a daylong search ended with Jamal found alive and unharmed.
Coleman appeared in court shackled as prosecutors and the defense presented the proposed deal. He had been charged with kidnapping, taking hostages and possession of a firearm by a delinquent, along with a misdemeanor. The agreement would have reduced the case to one robbery conviction. Borowski questioned why the court should accept a deal that cut potential prison exposure from more than 90 years to a maximum of 15 years. “No way am I taking what’s on the table,” Borowski said from the bench, after describing the allegations as severe and far beyond a routine robbery case.
The case began July 11, 2025, near 61st and Heustis streets on Milwaukee’s northwest side. Prosecutors have said Jamal was outside his father’s home when armed people took him and forced him into a vehicle. The abduction was captured on video and quickly spread fear across the city as police searched for the child. Investigators later said the plot began as a plan to rob Jamal’s mother, then turned into a kidnapping and extortion attempt after the suspects did not find her. Jamal was recovered about 24 hours later in the upper unit of a Milwaukee home. Authorities said he was physically unharmed.
According to court records described by prosecutors, Coleman was accused of helping plan the robbery and of taking part in the physical abduction. Borowski focused on that allegation during the hearing, saying Coleman was accused of grabbing the child and putting him into the vehicle. Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Olstinski told the court the proposed agreement was tied in part to Coleman accepting responsibility. The defense also supported the deal. Borowski said the agreement did not reflect the seriousness of the alleged crime. Coleman had signed paperwork showing he was prepared to plead guilty to robbery, but the judge said a plea agreement still requires court approval.
Coleman was 14 when prosecutors charged him as an adult in December 2025. Local reports and court summaries have identified him as already having a juvenile delinquency record, including a drug case from when he was 12. The adult charges marked a major shift in the case after earlier juvenile court hearings. At one July 2025 hearing, a judge denied a request to release him to home monitoring with GPS tracking, citing the seriousness of the allegations. Two adults also were charged in connection with the kidnapping, which prosecutors have described as a coordinated plan involving robbery, ransom demands and firearms.
The rejected plea leaves the case moving toward either a new agreement or trial. Borowski gave both sides another chance to work on a deal before setting the matter for trial. A new plea hearing was scheduled for May 26 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. If no agreement is reached and accepted by the court, prosecutors could continue with the existing charges. Those counts carry far more potential prison time than the robbery charge in the rejected agreement. Coleman has not been convicted in the case, and the charges remain allegations unless proved in court or resolved by a valid plea.
The kidnapping drew wide attention because of Jamal’s age, the public Amber Alert and the video of the abduction. Family members and neighbors spent hours waiting for word as police searched homes and followed leads. The boy, known to some relatives as “Baby J,” was found safe the next day. The case also sparked public debate over how courts should handle teenagers accused of violent crimes. Borowski made clear Monday that age alone would not decide the issue. He said the law does not require judges to accept a negotiated sentence simply because a defendant is young.
The case now returns to court May 26, when prosecutors and Coleman’s defense team are expected to say whether they have reached a revised plea agreement or are preparing for trial.
Author note: Last updated May 19, 2026.