Milwaukee man gets 23-year prison term for killing Regina "Mya" Allen

No one is exactly sure why Clayton Hubbird fired the shot that killed Regina “Mya” Allen .

Not even Hubbird.

He claimed it was an accident. Prosecutors still won’t speculate on a motive nearly two years after Allen’s death.

In the end, the why doesn’t matter much to Andrea Allen.

Her child, the one described by many in her family as the life of the party, was gone.

“Clayton gets to see his family … and I have to go to a graveyard,” Andrea Allen said, her voice drowning in tears and grief. “I’ll never have (her) in my life ever again, and it hurts.”

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Hubbird, 33, pleaded guilty in May to killing Allen. A judge on Monday sentenced Hubbird to a 23-year prison term.

Prayers went unheeded

Allen was one of several transgender Black women who were killed since June 2022 in what evolved into a disturbing trend that shook Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community.

According to the Human Rights Campaign , Allen was at least the 32nd transgender or gender non-conforming person to die by homicide in the U.S. in 2023. The majority of those victims were Black and Latina transgender women.

Allen died just days from her 36th birthday; she was fatally shot outside her apartment in Milwaukee’s Avenues West neighborhood.

Circuit Judge Jean M. Kies also ordered Hubbird to serve seven and a half years of extended supervision when he is released from prison.

"I always prayed for (Allen) everyday. I guess that day, prayer didn't work,” Andrea Allen said.

Facts of the case

Police were called to the 800 block of North 26th Street on Aug. 29, 2022 at 2:14 a.m., and found Allen lying on the ground outside with a gunshot wound.

Surveillance video played in court showed Allen collapsing to the ground after a man fired a single shot from a car. A 9-1-1 call was made and police quickly responded.

As she was taken to the hospital, Allen gasped for air. With her dying breaths, she gave detectives a description of the man who shot her, what kind of vehicle he drove and where the two had met.

She said the gunman was a white man, about 30 years old with brown hair. He drove a black Tahoe with a child seat in the back, and the two met up at a gas station on the near-south side, Allen told detectives.

Then she died.

“But for her ID’ing the man who shot her … an arrest in this case isn’t made,” Assistant District Attorney Grant Huebner said.

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Gunman’s family asks for leniency

Hubbird was arrested within days of the shooting.

Members of Hubbird’s family pleaded with the judge to show mercy on the father of four.

“My son did something horrible. It wasn’t his intention,” Pamela Hubbird said. “(He’s) a good-hearted person, no matter what his past is. He’s not an evil guy.”

Hubbird had been previously convicted of several misdemeanors in Milwaukee County since 2011, including resisting or obstructing an officer, online court records show.

Defense attorney Aneeq Ahmad described Hubbird as “a good kid” who grew up with eight siblings and parents loving him. He “lost his way” after his father died; Hubbird was 10 at the time.

“This tragedy … has destroyed us,” Jennipher Haefner, Hubbird’s sister said. “This was a horrible, tragic event that shouldn’t have happened.”

In court, Hubbird claimed the shooting was an accident, but still accepted responsibility for taking Allen’s life. He said he regretted not getting out of the car to check on Allen, adding that “I panicked.”

“I’m so ashamed of myself,” he said, sobbing. “I failed myself, my children and my family.”

Kies said she found arguments the shooting was accidental "not credible."

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The judge said members the LGBTQ and trans communities are vulnerable to assault and homicide. Her sentence, she said, needed to send the message that violence against them has to stop.

“If this was truly an accident, why didn’t you get out of the car to render aid? Why didn’t you hold her hand as she passed away," Kies asked.

“I beat myself up about that every day,” Hubbird responded.

“You should," the judge said.

Hubbird was given 670 days of pre-trial credit, which can be applied to his sentence.

He has 20 days to appeal.

Other Black transgender women in Milwaukee who have been killed

Allen and Brazil Johnson, who was killed in June 2022, were the first identified Black transgender women to be killed in Milwaukee since Chanel Larkin was fatally shot in 2010. Larkin's killer was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released on extended supervision in 2021.

Chyna Long and Cashay Henderson in 2023 became the third and fourth Black transgender women to die in Milwaukee within about a year and a half.

The search for Brazil Johnson's killer continues. The FBI in January released an image of a person they believe may have information in the killing.

How to help

Diverse & Resilient offers trauma-informed support for the LGBTQ community statewide. To talk to an advocate, call or text the statewide warmline at 414-856-LGBT (5428).

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man gets 23-year prison term for killing Regina "Mya" Allen