The son of Dallas Cowboys star Erik Williams is facing capital murder after being arrested in connection with the deaths of two men in Texas earlier this month.
Cassius Shakembe Williams was arrested, along with another suspect, Rozman Rah-saan Shannon Jr., in Mesquite, Texas. Both men are being charged with two separate counts of capital murder following the two deaths that reportedly look place on June 12 at 4 p.m. CT. The bonds for all four charges were set at $500,000 for each charge, totaling $1 million for each suspect, according to the Mesquite News.
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Law enforcement believes that the alleged crime stemmed from a drug deal turned attempted robbery. The Mesquite News reports that the suspects met with the victims under the pretense of buying marijuana from the victims, but instead demanded the drugs at gunpoint.
Jacob Bradley Hollett, 19, was shot numerous times after he tried to drive away. Dalton James Prater, 18, was sitting nearby in a pickup truck when he was shot to death. Upon responding officers’ arrival, Hollett was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
Williams and Shannon Jr. are suspected of and charged with the killings and fleeing the scene afterward.
247 Sports reports that the phrase “first-degree murder” is not used — and that “capital murder” is its direct equivalent. Capital murder carries the death penalty with a conviction.
A capital murder charge requires the prosecutor to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally caused the death of another person, that the defendant intended serious bodily injury that caused the death of an individual or that the defendant committed a felony (other than manslaughter) and in performing that felony committed an act that was clearly dangerous to human life, which caused the death of an individual.
At 6’1″ and 290 pounds, Cassius Shakembe Williams followed in his footballer father’s footsteps, playing the game in Ohio at Central State University as a defensive tackle. Erik Williams played on the offensive line for the Dallas Cowboys in front of Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman in the early-to-mid ’90s, landing four Pro Bowl nods, three All-Pro honors and three Super Bowl rings in the process.
In other NFL-related news, former player Kellen Winslow Jr. faces life in prison after he was arrested last week in San Diego and charged with rape and kidnapping. The former tight end faces nine charges: two counts for kidnapping with the intent to commit rape; two counts of forcible rape; one count of forcible oral copulation; one count of forcible sodomy; two counts of residential burglary; and one count of indecent exposure. If convicted of all nine charges, he could reportedly be sentenced to life in prison.
Winslow spent time with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and the New York Jets. He made the Pro Bowl in 2007.
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