In the late hours of a Thursday night in Ettrick, Virginia, a gathering of young people at the University Apartments took a tragic turn, ending the life of 22-year-old Eric N. Wilkins Jr. A junior at Virginia State University, Wilkins was attending a party with 30 to 40 other people on November 21, 2013, at the apartment complex on J. Mitchell Jones Drive, a short distance from the campus.
An altercation broke out at the party as some attendees were leaving. During the dispute, which investigators believe did not involve Wilkins, shots were fired. Wilkins was struck in the back and was later discovered outside in a parking lot and sidewalk area. Police have stated that Wilkins was likely an innocent bystander, tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The day after the shooting, police arrested 19-year-old Brian W. Williams Jr. of Hopewell in connection with the death of Eric Wilkins. Williams was charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and was held without bond at the Chesterfield County Jail. The investigation was a joint effort between the Chesterfield County and Virginia State University police departments.
During a subsequent court hearing, a witness and friend of the suspect, Lamar Perry, testified that he, Williams, and another friend were at the party when a physical altercation began as they were departing. Perry recounted that someone pushed his other friend to the ground, and as he was about to join the fight to help his friend, he heard gunshots. Perry also testified that after they fled the scene, Williams told him that he had 'messed up' and fired the shots.
