‘Evil' Killer Sentenced to 19 Years Prison
Drug dealer Jonathan Williams, 20, has been jailed for manslaughter after fatally shooting a 46-year-old customer at point-blank range.
Drug dealer Jonathan Williams, 20, has been jailed for manslaughter after fatally shooting a 46-year-old customer at point-blank range.
Williams received an 19-year sentence for killing Deavon Harrison, a much-loved father and a grandfather who had addiction issues.
A 17-year-old accomplice of Williams was jailed for 3 years for his role in the violence.
The pair were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday, 4 September.
Earlier this year, a jury at the same court found 20-year-old Jonathan Williams guilty of the manslaughter and intentional wounding of Deavon Harrison on 30 December of last year. He was also convicted of possessing a knife and sentenced to 19 years in prison.
The 17-year-old co-defendant was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institute for wounding with intent and knife possession.
Both Williams and the boy, who was 16 at the time, were arrested on 7 January after extensive CCTV analysis tracked their movements before and after the attack.
CCTV footage showed Williams and the boy arriving at the Dunstall Hill property on an e-scooter and a bike shortly after 11:35 a.m. on 30 December.
They were seen leaving the address about a minute later, having fatally assaulted Mr. Harrison.
During the trial, the pair claimed they had gone to the property for a drug deal that went wrong. Mr. Harrison suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and severe knife injuries to his head and hands, ultimately being left to die on the kitchen floor.
Williams had a criminal record dating back to his youth, with convictions at 14 for burglary and possession of a bladed article. His accomplice in this case owed Williams money after a stash of drugs was stolen from the teenager.
Both had turned up at the scene armed with knives, seemingly anticipating some difficulty with the customer. The gun, which was stored at the drugs den, has not been found, nor the bladed weapons used in the attack.
In victim impact statements, relatives of Harrison described his attackers as 'evil' and 'demonic'.
A 43-year-old woman who had accompanied Harrison that day was found not guilty of any involvement in the incident.
The judge highlighted how the drugs trade was once again the cause of such tragedy and misery, while police expressed hope that these sentences would give relatives of the cictims a a=sense of justice served.
Jason King
Birmingham City-Desk
Twitter (X) @JasonKingNews
