Prelim date planned for Fairfield man charged with killing Vanden athlete

A preliminary hearing setting and a preplea report are scheduled for a 19-year-old Fairfield man charged with the fatal Easter 2021 shooting of a Vanden High student-athlete in Fairfield.

James Sterling Shawn Williams, who is out of custody on bail, appeared in Department 9 on June 21 for further proceedings in the case, and Judge Carlos R. Gutierrez ordered him to return for the setting, the report and a readiness conference at 8:30 a.m. July 21 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.

The pre-plea report previously had been referred to the Solano County Probation Department, where officials there will assess the felony matter against Williams.

Williams' defense attorney, Curtis C. Boyd, who did not immediately respond to a text message Friday for further comment, said earlier that probation officials may recommend that his client be placed on probation or sent to prison for the killing of Daniel Dejon Hughes, 17, of Fairfield, in advance of a possible plea agreement.

So far, Williams “has not admitted to anything,” Boyd said at the time.

When he, Williams and Deputy District Attorney Andrew Wood return for further proceedings in the coming days, the lawyers are expected to submit their own recommendations to Gutierrez, who will set a preliminary hearing date or use the pre-plea report as a guide for a final decision in the matter, should Williams enter a plea, said Boyd.

Fairfield police investigators allege Williams shot Hughes on April 4 last year; the teen 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 Hughes, 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 the suspect, identified as Williams, also an alumnus of Vanden High.

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 in Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield, with bail set a $70,000. Williams posted bail on April 9, court records show.

But court records also show that the Solano County District Attorney's complaint against Williams was amended on May 28, but it is unclear if that modified the charges initially recommended by Fairfield police.

Williams posted a reduced bail amount of $35,000 on June 1 and remains out of custody.

His latest court proceeding followed 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 Daniel 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, which supporters have pointed out to Superintendent Pamela Conklin, who rebuffed the stadium-naming idea during at a March 10 meeting with some of the supporters.

Still, Dejon Hughes, Daniel Hughes' father, some coaches, students and graduates vowed to persevere with their efforts to honor Daniel in some way.

The status of that effort is unclear.