Prelim hearing reshuffled once again for man accused of Vanden student's killing

Judge orders James S. S. Williams to return at 10 a.m. April 12 in the Justice Center in Fairfield

A January preliminary hearing has been vacated and reset for April for a 20-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 on Jan. 19 in Department 9, when Judge Carlos R. Gutierrez reshuffled a previously scheduled hearing for that day in the Justice Center in Fairfield.

The judge ordered Williams to return for the hearing at 10 a.m. April 12. A preliminary hearing is akin to a minitrial, with the presentation of witness testimony and other evidence. Gutierrez also ordered Williams to return at 8:30 a.m. March 24 for a readiness conference on the case.

On June 13 last year, the Solano County Probation Department issued a preplea report to assess the felony matter against Williams, but court records Monday did not indicate the status of that report.

Interviewed previously, Williams' defense attorney, Curtis C. Boyd, said 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.

He and Deputy District Attorney Andrew Wood, who is prosecuting the case, are expected to submit their own recommendations to Gutierrez, who may use the Probation Department's 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, 2021; the teen died two weeks later. 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, near Madison 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 the 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; being a minor in possession of ammunition.

He was arraigned on 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.

Daniel's death prompted an effort by his family and other community members 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 stadiumnaming idea during a meeting earlier in 2022.

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

A Travis Unified committee in October 2022 convened to consider naming the stadium in memory of Daniel.

The Naming of the Facility Committee, as it was called, heard Dejon Hughes and supporters of the idea argue that the idea should be presented to the Travis Unified governing board for consideration and possibly a vote.

However, a week or so later, district trustees, based on a recommendation by the committee, denied a request to add Hughes' name to the school's Gammon Field.