Victim to face alleged attacker
Suspect, 17, in guard shooting may be moved to adult court
After collapsing to the pavement, security guard Roderick Williams realized the extent of his injuries when he heard a woman who was hovering over him shout: “He’s been shot twice in the head!”
Then he heard the crowd that had gathered, residents of the apartment complex he was assigned to protect, saying prayers for him.
Williams, 41, said he prayed, too, thinking of his two sons, ages 11 and 12.
He was in shock and didn’t yet feel the pain, but he thought it didn’t sound good. He wiggled his legs and his left arm, but his right arm wouldn’t budge.
He would later learn that a third bullet had dug into nerves in the arm he uses to write and fire his weapon. But for the moment, he was thankful he could move the other limbs and, when police arrived at Camelot Manor Apartments and asked him questions, he could speak. He figured that meant he could survive.
Williams is scheduled to come to Shelby County Juvenile Court today to face one of his accused attackers as prosecutors argue to transfer Carlos Lamonte Thomas, 17, to adult court on charges of attempted first- degree murder and especially aggravated robbery.
Thomas’ attorney, James Sanders, said he will argue to keep the case in Juvenile Court.
“No one is accusing him of being the gunman,” said Sanders, who declined to discuss the case further.
The teen’s alleged accomplice, Bernard Johnson, 18, is facing the same charges as an adult .
The victim identified Johnson in a photo lineup as the shooter, according to an affidavit. No one else has been charged.
Williams said he had never seen the two, or a third person they were with, because they didn’t live at the apartment complex in the Parkway Village neighborhood.
Williams, who works for Central Defense, was signing his log book inside the guard booth on May 23 at about 11:30 p.m., just minutes from getting off work, when the
group walked up.
Within seconds, he was shot.
“I seen the guys walking by,” the victim said. “One of them just stopped and said: ‘We know these cameras don’t work,’ ” glancing up at a security camera mounted on the guard booth at Camelot and Ashwood.
He said one of the trio hopped to the side and opened fire.
He fell to the pavement and, after hearing a third shot, closed his eyes.
“I heard them over me,” he said. “I just laid there and played like I was dead.”
One of his attackers bent down and took his company weapon, a .40- caliber Smith & Wesson.
“They shot me to take my gun,” he said. “There was no altercation.”
Three weeks have passed since the ambush and Williams, who broke down in sobs this week as he described the assault, is struggling to heal.
One bullet tore into his neck and lodged in the back of his head. Doctors were able to remove it.
Another bullet ripped into the back of his head and tore through his jaw.
The shot in his right arm still causes searing pain and has sidelined him from a career he’s had for nearly a decade.
“It’s too early to tell how much damage there is,” he said.
“You never think people do such crazed things like trying to take your life for a gun.” — Beth Warren:
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