Vanden athlete slaying case referred to Probation Department
The case against a 19-year-old Fairfield man charged with the fatal Easter 2021 shooting of a Vanden High student-athlete in Fairfield has been referred to the Solano County Probation Department for a pre-plea report.
After a hearing Monday in Department 9, Judge Carlos R. Gutierrez agreed to send the case to probation, where officials there will assess the felony matter against James Sterling Shawn Williams.
Williams' defense attorney, Curtis C. Boyd, said probation officials may recommend that his client be placed on probation or sent to prison for the murder of Daniel Dejon Hughes, 17, of Fairfield, in advance of a possible plea agreement.
So far, Williams “has not admitted to anything,” Boyd said during a brief interview Wednesday.
When he, Williams and Deputy District Attorney Andrew Wood return for further proceedings in Department 9 at 8:30 a.m. June 21, the lawyers are expected to submit their own recommendations to Gutierrez, who will use the preplea report as a guide for a final decision in the matter, said Boyd.
The Monday hearing came when Williams was scheduled to face a preliminary hearing setting and readiness conference in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
Fairfield police investigators allege Williams shot Hughes on April 4, 2021; Hughes died some days afterward. Police officials, who described Williams as a friend of the victim, later ruled the shooting a homicide.
Events unfolded around 4:40 p.m. when officers responded to a report of a gunshot victim in a vehicle in the 1000 block of Broadway Street. They found Hughes in the vehicle along with another young man, but the driver, said to be the suspect, had fled, according to investigators.
Officers performed lifesaving measures before Daniel, who played on the school's varsity football and basketball teams, was taken to NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield.
A warrant was then issued for Williams, also a Vanden alumnus.
Williams surrendered to police two days later. He was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon using a firearm; willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence; carrying a loaded handgun he does not own; being a minor in possession of a concealed weapon; and being a minor in possession of ammunition.
He was arraigned April 8, 2021, in Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield, with bail set a $70,000. Williams posted bail the next day, court records show.
Court records also show that the Solano County District Attorney's complaint against Williams was amended May 28, but it is unclear if that modified the charges initially recommended by the Fairfield police.
Williams posted a reduced bail amount of $35,000 on June 1 and remains out of custody.
His latest court proceeding follows a sizable turnout at the Travis Unified School District governing board's March 8 meeting, when nearly a dozen speakers — among them the victim's father, coaches, other adults and classmates — supported the idea to have the Vanden High stadium named in honor of Hughes or have the district aid in creating some type of memorial for him at the 2951 Markeley Lane campus in Fairfield.
Currently, the athletic field is named after George A. Gammon but the stadium is not formally named. Supporters pointed this out to Superintendent Pamela Conklin, who rebuffed the stadium-naming idea during at March 10 meeting with some supporters.
Dejon Hughes, Daniel Hughes' father, some coaches, students and graduates vowed to persevere with their efforts to honor Daniel in some way.