In the autumn of 2016, a relationship that had recently ended spiraled into a fatal act of violence on a Shreveport street, claiming the lives of two people. On the evening of November 19, 2016, Ashley Williams, a 27-year-old female, was driving her Nissan Versa with her friend, 37-year-old Huey Leonard, as a passenger. The two had no idea they were being followed by Williams' ex-boyfriend, Arthur Deandre Anderson, who was 31 at the time.
The former couple had broken up only days before this deadly encounter.
As they drove along the 4000 block of Crosby Street, Anderson, driving a tan SUV, began his assault. He rammed his vehicle into the back of Williams' car, causing her to lose control and crash into a ditch. After forcing them off the road, Anderson opened fire on the disabled vehicle, striking both Williams and Leonard. The attack was swift and brutal, leaving both occupants of the car with fatal injuries. Leonard succumbed to his wounds at the scene, while Williams was found critically injured but still alive by bystanders and first responders who rushed to the chaotic scene.
In the moments before she was taken to the hospital, Ashley Williams was able to provide a dying declaration. Despite her severe injuries, she clearly identified her attacker to those who came to her aid and to the first police officer on the scene. Her final words were a plea and an accusation: “Arthur Anderson shot me! Arthur shot us … please don't let me die!” She was transported to University Health Hospital but tragically died from her injuries a short time later. This powerful statement from Williams herself became a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation that followed.
Based on Williams' dying words and other evidence gathered at the scene, Shreveport police quickly identified Arthur Anderson as the prime suspect. He was arrested just two days later, on November 21, 2016, and charged with two counts of second-degree murder. The subsequent investigation was thorough, with prosecutors utilizing cellphone records which showed Anderson had called Williams 36 times on the day of the murders, as well as expert testimony in firearms, accident reconstruction, and forensic pathology. In October 2022, Anderson's case went to trial. On October 31, 2022, a Caddo District Court jury found him guilty on both counts of second-degree murder. For the slayings of Ashley Williams and Huey Leonard, Arthur Anderson received two mandatory sentences of life in prison at hard labor without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
