In the early evening of May 6, 2020, Troy Lee Williams, a 39-year-old male from Summers County, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Pet Supplies Plus in the Cranberry Creek Shopping Center in Beckley, West Virginia. The incident occurred shortly before 7 p.m., at which time police were dispatched to the scene where they discovered Williams with a single gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a white Ford passenger car speeding away just after they heard the gunshot.
The investigation into Williams' death quickly led authorities to identify suspects. A woman, 24-year-old Latoya Monique Carter of Charleston, was arrested early the following morning and charged with being an accessory to the murder. The vehicle believed to have been used by the suspect was also recovered by the police. A few days later, the Beckley Police Department publicly identified 27-year-old Tremaine Lamar Jackson as the primary suspect and announced he was wanted for first-degree murder in connection with the shooting.
Tremaine Lamar Jackson was eventually apprehended and stood trial for the murder of Troy Williams. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Jackson and Williams had been in communication via text messages to arrange a meeting on the day of the shooting. Despite his defense team's initial claims that he had never been to Beckley, Jackson admitted during his testimony that he had traveled to the city in a white Ford Fusion on the day in question. However, he denied possessing a firearm or pulling a gun on Williams. Jackson was also facing a charge for illegal possession of a firearm.
