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Judge says ‘stand your ground’ law won’t apply in Williams trial

  • Participants in the Antoine Williams trial for murder listen to an audio tape in Floyd County District Court Friday. From left are Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey, Iowa Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister, Williams, and defense attorneys Steven Kloberdanz and Nellie O'Mara. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Defense attorneys Steven Kloberdanz and Nellie O'Mara discuss a witness while defendant Antoine Williams waits, Friday in Floyd County District Court. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Defense attorney Steven Kloberdanz, Iowa Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister and District Court Judge Rustin Davenport hold a sidebar meeting out of earshot of the jury Friday afternoon in Floyd County District Court. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Defense attorney Steven Kloberdanz shows a copy of deposition testimony to witness Ed Brown Friday during the murder trial for Antoine Williams in Floyd County District Court. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Special Agent Jon Turbett of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation testifies about an interview he held with Antoine Williams in Chicago in July. Williams is being tried on charges of first-degree murder in Floyd County District Court. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Iowa Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister refers to an image on a monitor while asking a witness a question Friday in Floyd County District Court. McAllister is assisting Floyd County in the prosecution of Antoine Williams on a charge of first-degree murder. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Sabrina Seehafer, an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation criminologist, testifies Friday in Floyd County District Court about blood, DNA and fingerprint evidence collected from a red SUV that Antoine Williams allegedly drove away in after allegedly shooting the driver in Charles City on June 30. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Antoine Williams greets his mother in court Friday during a break in Williams's first-degree murder trial. At left is Floyd County Sheriff Jeff Crooks. Press photo by Bob Steenson

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The state’s new “stand your ground” law will not apply to the murder trial of Antoine Williams, the judge ruled Friday, as the prosecution rested its case and the defense began presenting witnesses.

Steven Kloberdanz, one of Williams’ attorneys, had said in the defense’s opening statement Wednesday that Williams feared for his life and it was “shoot or be shot.”

While the jury was out of the room at one point Friday the defense made the case that it should be able to use Iowa’s “stand your ground” law.

The new law says that a person no longer has a duty to retreat if he feels his life is in danger, and that a person can use deadly force if he feels such force is necessary to avoid injury or risk to one’s life or safety.

The law also offers legal protections even if a person was wrong that his life was in danger, as long as there was a reasonable basis for the fear and the person acted reasonably.

Williams, 36, of Charles City, is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Nathaniel Fleming, 36, of Mason City, on June 30 in Charles City.

The new law went into effect July 1, and the defense argued that Williams wasn’t charged until July 1 and that should be the determining factor.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister, who is helping Floyd County prosecute the case, argued that what matters is when the shooting took place, and it took place before the law was in effect.

District Court Judge Rustin Davenport ruled that if the Legislature had wanted the law to apply to cases that were pending it should have included that in the law, and he ruled the new law would not apply in this case.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Jon Turbett was the prosecution’s final witness Friday. He testified that he went to Chicago to interview Williams on July 7 after Williams turned himself in to Chicago police and was arrested July 5.

Turbett said his office is in Dubuque, so he was the closest agent to Chicago.

Turbett said he had interviewed Williams for about an hour and a half to two hours, and at first Williams said that he had only found out what happened to Fleming several days after it occurred.

McAllister asked Turbett if he asked Williams directly if he had shot Fleming.

Turbett said he did, and Williams had answered, “No, sir. That’s crazy.”

Turbett continued the interview, he said, and after a while it appeared things were “weighing heavily” on Williams “and we had covered everything else.”

“At that point in the interview this would be the time where I would ask him, ‘Do you think that law enforcement knows that you are involved in Nate’s death?’” Turbett said. “He said, ‘yes,’ he had figured out that we knew that.”

As he continued the interview, Turbett said, Williams said he had purchased a gun from his friend, Ed Brown, for $100. Turbett said Williams described the weapon as an older, smaller black .380-caliber handgun.

Turbett said Williams described the scene in the parking lot of Clarkview Apartments (now known as Casa Apartments) the night of the shooting and said he saw Fleming drive into the lot and back into a parking space.

Williams said Fleming said “something that triggered him,” Turbett said. “He couldn’t tell me what he said, just that he was triggered.”

“He said he shot all the bullets that were in the gun,” Turbett said.

Under questioning by McAllister, Turbett testified that later in the interview Williams told him that Brown had given him six bullets when he bought the gun. He loaded all six bullets into the gun and at some point test-fired two, Turbett said, meaning he shot Fleming four times.

Later, during cross-examination, one of Williams’ attorneys, Nellie O’Mara of Mason City, asked if Williams had told Turbett how many times he had shot Fleming.

Turbett said, “no,” but “I did the math.”

McAllister asked if Williams said he saw Fleming with a gun the night of the shooting, and Turbett said Williams said no, he had not seen Fleming with a gun.

Turbett said Williams told him what happened after he shot Fleming.

“He described opening the car door and dragging or pulling him out of the car,” Turbett said. “He said Nate had said, or asked him, and pardon my language, ‘What the f—?’ as he’s dragging him out. He drags him, drops him on the ground, he jumps in Nate’s car and drives away,” Turbett said Williams told him.

Turbett said that Williams told him he drove to Waterloo that night, and along the way he threw the gun out the passenger side window “as hard as I could” as he was driving along Highway 63.

The gun has not been found.

McAllister asked Turbett if Williams said why he was so angry with Fleming.

Turbett said that Williams told him that earlier the day of the shooting, he had been in a group of people with Fleming and Fleming questioned the group as to whether they had something to do with a beating he had received earlier in the month.

Turbett said Williams told him that Fleming said, “You all better not be standing here when I get back.”

Turbett said that Williams told him at that point the group broke up, and Williams went to his apartment and got his gun from under the kitchen.

“He said he returned about an hour later to find Nate.”

“Did you ask him why he came back and walked up on Nate an hour later?” McAllister asked.

Turbett said Williams said, “To see if he’d pull a gun on me — I don’t know, to shoot him, I guess.”

“Did he tell you that he should have let it go”? McAllister asked Turbett.

“Yes.”

“And you told him ‘you didn’t let it go,’ right?”

“I said, ‘but you didn’t let it go, Antoine.”

“What did he say?” McAllister asked Turbett.

“He said, ‘No I didn’t. It’s on me. That’s on me,’” Turbett said Williams told him.

In cross examination, defense attorney Nellie O’Mara asked Turbett if he was relying on his memory in describing what was said during the interview.

Turbett said “every minute” of the interview was recorded on digital audio, and he had reviewed an 18-page report he wrote based on the interview.

“But everything you’re testifying today is from memory,” O’Mara asked again.

“Yes,” Turbett answered.

O’Mara asked Turbett if Williams said Fleming had threatened him.

Turbett initially said no, but after O’Mara had him review his report, he said Williams said Fleming had threatened him, but it was “about a gun which he never saw.”

Another witness for the prosecution, Sabrina Seehafer, a criminologist with the Iowa DCI, said her team tested the red SUV that Williams allegedly took from the shooting scene and that was later recovered in Waterloo.

Seehafer said blood found in the car belonged to Fleming. She said most of the DNA found in the vehicle belonged to at least three different people and it wasn’t possible to identify individuals. A head scarf, or do-rag, found in the car had DNA from two people, but predominantly Fleming.

She testified there were no fingerprints found that were of a quality sufficient for matching.

The defense began presenting its witnesses Friday afternoon by recalling Ed Brown to the stand.

Brown said he had known Williams for five years and trusted him enough that he had invited Williams to live with him in his house once when Williams returned to Charles City and needed a place to stay.

Responding to questions by Kloberdanz, Brown agreed that Williams was quiet and respectful, had few if any enemies and was friendly with everyone.

Kloberdanz then directed his questions to what Brown knew about Fleming’s actions, that he and Williams had both witnessed.

Brown said Fleming was drinking alcohol on the day of the shooting and acting crazy, although he said he didn’t know Fleming by that name.

“We knew him as Bushwick,” he said, after Bushwick Bill, a little person rapper.

Brown said they called Fleming by the nickname Bushwick because Fleming was very short.

The state autopsy report listed Fleming’s height as 5 feet, 7 inches. Brown and Williams have both been described as 6 feet, 7 inches tall.

Brown said Fleming was “jumping around, acting weird” the day of the shooting, and was speeding through the apartment parking lots, squealing his tires.

Asked about Fleming’s drinking, Brown said he “had a bottle with him at all times” and had also been smoking a blunt — marijuana in a cigar tobacco wrapper.

Brown said at some point that day Williams told him, “this m-f (is) talking about killing me,” referring to Fleming.

On cross-examination, Brown said he was also intoxicated the evening of the shooting, and he had an accident several years ago that affected his memory.

Brown agreed with McAllister that Fleming was “just being a stupid drunk,” and Brown agreed he was not afraid of him.

“You never saw him being physically aggressive with anybody, did you?” McAllister asked.

“No, no,” Brown said.

“He was talking tough, but he wasn’t threatening anybody?” McAllister asked.

“No, not directly,” Brown said.

On redirect, Kloberdanz asked Brown, “Were you concerned enough about Bushwick or Nate Fleming’s behaviour that night that you didn’t want any part of it and you left?”

“Yes,” Brown said.

“And didn’t that happen to a lot of people out there that night?” Kloberdanz asked.

“Yes,” Brown said.

The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Monday in the Floyd County district courtroom at the courthouse.

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