A 35-year-old North Little Rock man who fatally stabbed a romantic rival with a broken golf club after catching him in a compromising position with his boyfriend accepted a 25-year prison sentence Thursday.
Terrio Sanchaz Williams recorded the deadly encounter with Kenneth Ahmad Love on his cellphone, chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson told Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright. The recording includes Williams telling Love, "I'm going to stab your ass," while brandishing the broken club. Williams had broken the club head off by hitting Love with it.
Under the arrangement negotiated by defense attorney Ron Davis, Williams pleaded guilty as charged Thursday to second-degree murder in exchange for a prison term that's five years short of the 30-year maximum for the Class A felony. Williams initially had claimed self-defense.
In a letter to the judge, which included photos of Love and Williams together, the defendant apologized to Love's family, asking for their forgiveness and describing the victim as his friend and brother.
"I couldn't find the right words to convey how deeply remorseful I am for losing not only my friend but my brother," the letter states. "Somehow saying I am sorry for robbing the family of their loved one's life seems too small of a gesture. Nothing I can say or do will ever ease the pain that was caused to Kenneth's family or myself and my family."
Williams wrote that he lost control after finding Love and his boyfriend together.
"In that one moment, I felt confused, hurt, betrayed, by my friend and brother. Kenneth was my friend and I trusted him with my life and in my home," he wrote. "Although I was hurt that day because I felt betrayed and let down, I never meant for this to happen. I never knew emotions could take over in literally just seconds."
Williams inflicted two minor wounds on Love's arm but the third blow went through the victim's left armpit and drove the end of the club almost 7 inches into his chest, puncturing his lung, the prosecutor said. Love made it out of the house and into the garage where he collapsed at the edge of the driveway.
Some witnesses reported seeing Williams standing over the victim with some kind of instrument, like a hammer or a knife, the prosecutor said.
Neighborhood children playing by the house told their parents, who called 911, the prosecutor said. Williams was arrested at the scene.
Love, 27, from Waco, Texas, had been a weekend guest at Williams and Charles Arnold Johnson's Salinas De Hidalgo Boulevard home in October, and Williams had become suspicious something was going on between the men, the prosecutor said.
Williams and Johnson, 30, had been together nine years and had met Love about four years earlier in New Orleans, Williams told investigators. He said the men had lost contact but had reunited recently through the Instagram photo-sharing social media service.
Williams said he told Love and Johnson that he was going to church and left the house, the prosecutor said. But Williams left the garage door open and returned, disabling the alarm system so it wouldn't sound when he went back inside, the prosecutor said.
Williams found the men on the couch becoming intimate and recorded their encounter on his cellphone, the prosecutor said.
Williams got the club and beat on Love's black Nissan Altima then went back inside and confronted the men, who were in the couple's bedroom at that point, continuing to record with his phone.
In the bedroom, he struck Love with the club then turned to gouging him when the head broke off the club several inches above the socket , the prosecutor said.
The report by sheriff's investigator Jeff Allison describes how he found blood on the bedroom wall, apparently cast off from the swinging golf club, which indicated a confrontation at the foot of the bed. He reported that a trail of blood led from the bedroom, through the kitchen and laundry room toward the garage.
In an interview with Allison, Williams said he had confronted the men in bed and Love responded by rushing him. Williams told the investigator he hit Love with the club, which caused the head to detach. Williams said he jabbed at Love with the broken shaft when the younger man came at him again. Williams said he'd scratched Love's shoulder but denied stabbing him or damaging Love's car.
Johnson, Williams' boyfriend, told investigators that Love tried to take the broken club away from Williams after being struck.
Deputy Sam Brandon, the first officer on the scene, found Love unconscious and struggling to breathe in the driveway. The deputy was able to revive him, but Love was still having difficulty breathing and could not speak. He was able to respond to Brandon's questions by squeezing his hand, according to the police report.
The officer shifted Love so the wound would be above his heart. Deputies couldn't apply a chest-seal bandage effectively because of the wound's location and Love's struggling, Brandon reported.
Brandon got Love stabilized briefly but the victim suddenly went rigid and stopped breathing. Unable to find a pulse, Brandon tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation but the compression caused more bleeding from the wound, his report stated.
Seventeen supporters, 10 of them pastors and church leaders, submitted written character references for Williams.
Among those writing to the judge were Charles Hardy Jr. of Hardy Funeral Home in Little Rock, where the defendant has worked for the past 12 years; MaRon King, a Hall High School counselor and pastor of Destiny of the Kingdom Church in Maumelle; Ronald Hollis Jr., owner of Ron's Tax Service in Little Rock; Hyron Hall, president of Gamma Mu Phi Fraternity; and the Rev. J. Barrington Minix, senior pastor at Gaines Street Baptist Church in Little Rock where Williams is a member.
Metro on 09/10/2017