In the winter of 2018, the life of Martell T. Williams, a 25-year-old Black/African American man, was tragically cut short in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the evening of January 31st, Williams was at the Enclaves apartment complex located at 8455 W. Sahara Ave. for what authorities later described as a narcotics-related transaction. He and a friend, Brandon Boisclair, had gone to the complex with $14,000 in cash, intending to purchase a significant quantity of codeine.
While his friend waited
in their vehicle, Williams went to meet the sellers near the complex's pool area. It was there that the deal took a fatal turn. Boisclair heard a single gunshot and rushed to find Williams on the ground, suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. Despite his friend's attempts at CPR and a call to 911, Martell Williams died at the scene. The backpack containing the $14,000 was gone.
The initial investigation was jump-started by the quick thinking of Williams' friend. Upon finding him, Boisclair accessed Williams' phone and saved a Snapchat message from the last person he had been in contact with. This preserved digital breadcrumb proved to be a critical piece of evidence for detectives. The Snapchat message led them to identify Montrell Russum as a primary suspect. Investigators discovered that Russum had fled to Houston, Texas, shortly after the shooting and had deleted his social media accounts.
Further investigation, including an analysis of cell tower records, connected two other individuals to the crime. Police identified Billy Danford, 23, whose phone records indicated he was with Russum both before and after the killing. Another suspect, 18-year-old Christopher Parra, was also arrested. Prosecutors stated that Russum had met with Parra to borrow the gun used in the deadly robbery. In June 2019, a jury convicted Montrell Russum of murder, robbery, and conspiracy for his role in the slaying of Martell Williams. The other suspects, Danford and Parra, were also arrested and awaited trial for their alleged involvement.
