Double homicide suspect returned to St. Johns County

Johnny Williams charged in killing of girlfriend, 18-year-old in St. Augustine

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man wanted for killing two people in St. Augustine last week was denied bond by a Duval County judge Saturday and has been transferred to the St. Johns County jail.

Johnny Williams Jr. was arrested without incident at a convenience store on Norwood Avenue Friday on a warrant charging him with two counts of murder. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said he was arrested with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal's Service and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and booked into the Duval County jail.

Williams was denied bond in his first appearance Saturday in Duval County. His next scheduled court date is April 26.

After the hearing he was transferred to the St. Johns County jail.

Lamont Ross said that he saw about 15 officers surrounding a car in the parking lot of the Norwood Food Mart on Friday. Police used a sledgehammer to break the window and pull a suspect out.

"I was like, 'Oh. they got him.' So I started video recording," Ross said. "They gave the man numerous times to get out ... Asking him over and over again, 'Come out of the vehicle. Come out of the vehicle.' But he did not do it."

Investigators said Williams, 36, has been on the run since two shootings on April 5 left 24-year-old Jamie Wilson and 18-year-old Keiwuan Murray dead and a child and another woman wounded.

The shootings were less than a mile apart in West Augustine.

St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said last week that after Wilson, Williams, their 2-month-old son and a 4-year-old niece got out of a car in front of a home on Rollins Avenue, Williams shot Wilson. He then got back into the car and hit a stroller holding the baby before driving a few blocks to the corner of Duval and Fourth streets, where his mother lives. 

Shoar said that after talking with his mom, Williams went outside and shot at a group of people where Murray was standing, and Brittany Tobler, 28, was also hit by gunfire. Shoar said Williams had an ongoing dispute with a group of people that included Murray and Tobler that had nothing to do with why he shot Wilson.

Tobler and the baby hit by the car were taken to Flagler Hospital for treatment. Both were treated and released.

Investigators later confirmed that the maroon Ford Contour deputies believed Williams used to leave St. Augustine had been stolen. That car was found abandoned that night on Kenmore Street, just off Norwood Avenue in northwest Jacksonville. 

Shoar said that investigators had reason to believe Williams was hiding in Jacksonville, which is where he was later found.

Hearing that Williams was arrested, his mother, Virginia Betts, told News4Jax, "Thank God he is OK and in custody."

Betts said her son was in the process of turning himself in, adding, "My heart goes out to the family."

Asked after Williams' capture if he could provide information about what was found in car or a motive for the killings, a spokesman for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office wouldn't say much.

"We have the loss of two lives," Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan said. "The public pays us to get successful prosecutions, so releasing information prematurely may hinder that."