Derrick Lester Williams, a 42-year-old African American man, died on July 19, 2015, in Clayton, North Carolina. Williams was found shot to death outside a building where a party was being held. His death was discovered after deputies were dispatched to 527 Slate Top Road near Clayton in the early Sunday morning, where a party was being held at "The Sugar Shack."
Williams was found lying in the yard shot multiple times.
Williams had been facing a second-degree murder charge in the May 2 shooting death of his 18-year-old girlfriend, Moesha Lockamy. Williams told investigators when he called them that he and the teen had been playing with the gun when it fired. Wilson's Mills police had arrested Williams on May 2 after he reported that Lockamy had been shot while they were playing with a gun. Williams had been scheduled for a hearing in Lockamy's death the week of his own death.
Johnston County Sheriff's detectives arrested Annie Marie Artis, age 42, of Oak Street and charged her with murder in the death of Derrick Lester Williams. Artis is being held in the Johnston County Jail without bond. Detectives have worked tirelessly on this murder investigation, which is ongoing, with the possibility of additional arrests. Sheriff Steve Bizzell said more arrests are possible in Williams' death.
