An 18-year-old Little Rock man responsible for a pair of drive-by shootings about two hours apart last September has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.
No one was injured, but police reports show that the weapon found with Christopher Martez Williams the night of the gunfire was used in three earlier drive-by shootings, including one at the home of a murder suspect. No one was injured in those shootings either. Williams was not charged in those incidents and denied involvement.
Sentencing papers filed on Thursday show Williams pleaded guilty to simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, marijuana trafficking and 19 counts of committing a terroristic act -- each count representing a bullet fired -- in exchange for the prison term imposed by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson.
The plea agreement was negotiated by deputy prosecutor Michelle Quiller and defense attorney Bobby Digby. Williams will have to serve six years before he is parole eligible.
Court records show police first began responding to reports of gunfire at 7:08 p.m. Sept. 20 when 25-year-old Brittany Coleman at 25 W. Windsor Drive called to report a black and silver four-door sedan shooting at houses behind her home.
At 7:51 p.m, less than a quarter-mile to the south, seven shots were fired into the home of Jerica Rideout, 22, and 15-year-old Kaylin Dodson at 6510 Brookview Drive. Neither Rideout nor Dodson saw anything, although Rideout suggested her brother, 19-year-old Jericho Rideout, might know something. Police said he declined to cooperate.
Nearly two hours later and about 4 ½ miles to the north, someone fired several rounds into the 4607 W. Charles Bussey Ave. home of Paula Stewart and her four children at 9:49 p.m. Stewart told police she didn't see who did the shooting.
Police encountered Williams about 30 minutes later. Officers were still at the Brookview Drive home when officers saw a black four-door sedan with a silver front quarter panel driving down 65th Street. The car quickly turned off and fled, but police caught up to it at the intersection of Baseline and Chicot roads.
Williams, the passenger, was arrested immediately, when police saw he had a jar of marijuana and a .40-caliber pistol at his feet. Police also found spent .40-caliber shell casings on the car hood.
Neither Williams nor the driver would answer questions, and the driver was released. But police kept the car. A further search of the vehicle turned up more shell casings, several live rounds and another gun under the driver's seat.
Detectives subsequently got an arrest warrant for Williams, and he surrendered to police on Sept. 30. He's been jailed since.
In custody, Williams admitted to shooting up the house on Charles Bussey, but would not talk about the Brookview gunfire, police said.
Four days later, police also arrested the driver, Justice Juan Moore, at his home at 13 Lakeside Drive on seven counts of committing a terroristic act in connection to the Brookview Drive shooting.
The then-17-year-old was initially charged as an adult, but prosecutors agreed to transfer the charges to juvenile court in April.
An examination of the gun found with Williams showed that the weapon had been used in three earlier drive-bys in Little Rock. Williams denied any involvement or knowledge about those events, police said.
On Sept. 7, at 1:24 a.m, shots were fired into the home of Tawana and Robert Shelton and their five children at 62 Kingspark Road. A bullet also struck the neighboring home of Paul Holcomb at 68 Kingspark. A neighbor reported seeing a red car leaving the area as the shots were being fired.
On Sept. 14, at 2:30 a.m., someone fired shots into the home at 9120 W 35th St. shared by Georgia Walker, 54, Steve Davis, 67, and Latasha Oliver, 36.
Oliver's son, 19-year-old Zereak Zernell Oliver, is currently charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery, accused of killing a Sherwood woman in July, and Latasha Oliver told police she thought the gunfire was an attempt at revenge.
On Sept. 15, at 1:30 a..m., six shots were fired into the home of Stacey Lee, 47, and her 20-year-old son, Kyron Batch, at 8307 W. 24th St. A neighbor said he saw a black Chevrolet Tahoe and a white Chevrolet Impala driving away as others fired shots at the vehicles.
Metro on 05/21/2019