Third suspect in fatal drive-by shooting in custody

Published 5:57 pm Friday, July 14, 2017

A third suspect in a fatal drive-by shooting earlier this month is in custody.

According to Selma Police Chief Spencer Collier, 18-year-old Ceddarious Williams was arrested Friday after a nearly two-week long manhunt.

“We are pleased that Ceddarious Williams is now in custody and off the streets,” Collier said Friday evening.

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Williams, who is charged with capital murder in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Devon Lee II, surrendered to agents with the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Selma Police Department.

Williams is the third of four suspects now in custody. Markel Collins, 16, was arrested the day of the murder on July 3, Mitchell Williams, 19, was arrested late last week in Huntsville by the U.S. Marshals and Huntsville Police Department SWAT and Jamarius Shaw, 23, is still at large and wanted for capital murder.

“Our focus now shifts totally to the [Jamarius] Shaw suspect, and I can assure the citizens of Selma that we will not let up,” Collier said. “The safest and smartest thing he can do is peacefully surrender.”

Lee was gunned down on the front porch of a home on the 1500 block of Washington Street on July 3. According to a probable cause warrant read by Judge Collins Pettaway in an arraignment hearing last week, Collins was the alleged driver in the homicide.

Mitchell Williams was arraigned in court Thursday, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for both him and Collins on Aug. 2 at 2 p.m.

Investigators believe the fatal drive-by was the result of retaliation from back and forth shootings. Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson said the homicide is gang-related. According to Jackson, Collins and Ceddarious are the brothers of Cedric Williams, who shot and killed last year. Cedric was a senior at Selma High School at the time of his death. That case remains unsolved.

Court records show Ceddarious Williams was out on bond for a 2015 attempted murder charge. Williams, a Selma High School student at the time, was arrested in September 2015 for allegedly shooting another student in front of his home on the 1500 block of St. Phillips Street.

Collier said the U.S. Marshals have played a big role in helping the department make arrests.

“We are appreciative of the assistance from the Marshals Fugitive Task Force. They are an incredible partner and resource for local law enforcement,” he said.

Collier said Shaw is considered armed and dangerous, and asks for anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-442-7463, the SPD Criminal Investigation Division at (334) 874-2125 or the secret witness line at (334) 874-2190.