Life sentence for Putnam County man who murdered childhood friend

PALATKA, Fla. – A 33-year-old Putnam County man who pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder in the shooting death of his friend was sentenced Monday to life in prison.

On Jan. 5, 2020, Ahmad Williams was with a group gathered outside a vacant home off North Main Street and Florida Avenue in Crescent City.

Williams was talking with a childhood friend and at some point repeated he was going to shoot his friend “in seven minutes.”

Williams then walked around the corner of the vacant house, came back to where his friend was sitting and shot him in the head.

The friend died at the scene and Williams ran off. He later turned himself in.

“What the defendant did was inconceivable. He murdered his childhood friend for no apparent reason!” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “Our victim leaves behind a large family who will never understand the brutal and senseless killing of their family member.”