Williams trial for murder will remain in Floyd County

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A man charged in a Charles City shooting death will have his trial remain in Floyd County after the judge in the case turned down a motion for a change of venue.

District Court Judge Rustin Davenport’s ruling was filed Monday afternoon, after a hearing Friday where Antoine Williams’ attorney presented arguments why the trial should be moved.

Attorney Nellie O’Mara had argued that publicity on the case had been so pervasive that the court was unlikely to be able to find a jury that had not already heard of or formed opinions in the case.

She said coverage in the Press and other area media had been extensive, and also noted that people on social media such as Facebook had spent a great deal of time discussing the shooting and then the arrest of Williams.

“Such a degree of prejudice exists in Floyd County that there is a substantial likelihood that a fair and impartial trial cannot be preserved with a jury selected in Floyd County,” according to the written motion filed by O’Mara.

Davenport’s ruling said: “ The majority of the media articles are factual in nature. Any inaccuracies are not material.

“Even if the prospective jurors have knowledge of the incident and have read news articles about this case, this does not necessarily result in the conclusion that prospective jurors have formed or expressed an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant as would prevent the juror from rendering a true verdict upon the evidence submitted at the time of the trial.

“No evidence has been presented that prospective jurors will have a predisposition,” he wrote.

Davenport did agree to another request made by O’Mara, and which was agreed to by the prosecution, County Attorney Rachel Ginbey, that an additional jury panel be called for the trial to increase the number of potential jurors to draw from.

Williams has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of Nathaniel Fleming of Mason City on June 30 in Charles City. The trial has been set to begin on Oct. 10.