Hezekiah Williams, 23, of Lima, will be sentenced Feb. 29 after pleading guilty on Monday to felony counts of aggravated robbery and felonious assault and a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — A Lima man facing a handful of felony charges related to a November 2022 burglary and assault on Monday entered guilty pleas to three of those charges. As a result of his plea deal with prosecutors, four additional counts against Hezekiah Williams will be dismissed.
Williams, 23, will be sentenced Feb. 29 (Leap Day) on single counts of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony that includes a three-year firearm specification; felonious assault, a second-degree felony; and domestic violence, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Charges dismissed as part of the plea bargain include three counts of felonious assault, second-degree felonies, and one count of having weapons under disability.
Williams’ plea comes one week before a jury trial was scheduled to commence in his case.
The case dragged on for an extended period of time after Williams violated the terms of his bail and, on two occasions, had warrants issued for his arrest.
On June 21 of this year Judge Terri Kohlrieser issued a bench warrant for Williams on the basis that he had violated the conditions of his bond by testing positive for marijuana, methamphetamine and amphetamines on June 1. He was taken into custody on June 27 but was granted an extension of his bond.
A second warrant was issued for Williams’ arrest on Sept. 27 after he failed to appear at a change-of-plea hearing. His $100,000 bond was forfeited. The warrant was served on Williams on Nov. 8.
In February of 2020 Williams was charged with felonious assault for causing or attempting to cause harm to Romelo Blackman during what police said was a gang-related shooting in the 2200 block of North Cole Street on June 21, 2019. The incident occurred following the funeral of Christian Laws, who had been gunned down one week earlier by Jolade Omosikeji.
The charges against Williams in the 2020 case were later dismissed by prosecutors. In a separate incident Blackman was shot and killed by Kenyatta Washington on April 22. Jamaree Allen and Eric Wilson received lengthy prison sentences on gang-related charges for their roles in the afternoon shooting during which shots were fired across the busy Lima thoroughfare.
