Floyd County theft charges dropped against man in prison for murder

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

A man currently serving up to 50 years in prison for murder will not have to be returned to Charles City and the county will avoid the cost of a trial on charges of burglary and tampering with a witness.

The Floyd County Attorney’s Office made a motion last week to dismiss charges of theft in the third degree and tampering with a witness against Antoine Williams, who is currently serving a sentence in Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Williams, age 36, was convicted in October by a Floyd County District Court jury for murder in the second degree for the June 30, 2017, shooting death of Nathaniel Fleming in Charles City.

Williams was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 35 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Williams had been charged in September 2014 with third-degree theft for allegedly pawning his girlfriend’s television without her permission. The charge is an aggravated misdemeanor.

He was also charged with tampering with a witness for allegedly threatening to kill his girlfriend if she did not drop charges against him. According to police records he left a telephone message with his girlfriend saying he was “coming for” her.

The case wound its way through the court system for several years until a trial was scheduled for July 2017. The trial was postponed several times and the latest trial date had been Thursday, Jan. 18.

But last week Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey filed to dismiss the charges, noting Williams’ current sentence and incarceration, and saying the dismissal “would be in the interest of justice.”

District Court Judge Peter Newell dismissed the charges.