On Christmas Eve of 2015, a festive time meant for celebration was tragically cut short for 26-year-old Clevee Ramon Chick, a male resident of South Bend, Indiana. What began as a seemingly ordinary evening in a third-floor apartment at the Miami Hills complex on South High Street ended in a violent burst of gunfire that claimed his life. Chick was inside the apartment with several other people, including women and children, when a knock came at the door.
When the door was answered, two
men, later identified as Tyshawn Williams and Bruce Dewayne Thomas III, stood on the other side armed with guns. In a heroic act to shield the others, Chick quickly shut the door, and those inside scrambled for cover. But the assailants unleashed a hail of bullets through the door. In the chaos, Clevee Chick was struck in the back of the head and shoulder, succumbing to his injuries at the scene.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence led authorities to Tyshawn Williams, who had a past relationship with a woman inside the apartment and was the father of her two children. Witnesses reported that Williams had recently made threats to kill her. By December 28, 2015, Tyshawn Williams was charged with murder, and he was apprehended on January 21, 2016. The second suspect, Bruce Dewayne Thomas III, was also charged with murder in February of that year.
The legal proceedings brought a measure of justice for Clevee Chick's loved ones. On July 8, 2016, a jury deliberated for just two and a half hours before finding Bruce Dewayne Thomas III guilty of murder. He was subsequently sentenced to 55 years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting. The trial for Tyshawn Williams was set to commence in January 2017. While the specific outcome of this trial is not detailed in readily available online sources, a later federal court document from 2022, concerning a separate firearm charge against a Tyshawn Williams of South Bend, indicated that he was on parole for a prior felony conviction of reckless homicide.
