CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The jury trial for a man charged with a 2017 home invasion that resulted in a homicide began Monday afternoon.
On the night of Nov. 7, 2017, two armed men entered the home on Hundred Oaks Drive though a back door and confronted four occupants; then gunfire erupted. When police arrived, they found 34-year-old Christopher Lane in the house with a gunshot wound to his torso. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died several hours later. Lane’s father, Lonnie, was shot at several times, and two others in the home were held against their will while being threatened with a deadly weapon.
In April 2022, Timothy Lebrone Williams, 34, and one other suspect were arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated kidnapping, burglary, robbery and first-degree murder.
Prosecution: ‘They had a plan
The trial began on Monday with Williams sitting at the defense table as the state presented their opening argument to the jury.
“They had a plan,” Assistant District Attorney Mary O’Connor said. “They had a plan to go to Christopher’s house at 312 Hundred Oaks and rob him. But Chris wasn’t going to comply with that plan.”
O’Connor explained that while Williams and two others were robbing the home, Lane was shot in the stomach with a shotgun. Lane’s father, Lonnie, awoke to the sound of a gunshot and rushed out of his room to investigate when he saw a man with a gun. Lonnie barely had time to flee as the gunfire turned to him.
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O’Connor told the jury they can expert to hear the two co-defendants, Matthew Bryan and Warren Broomer, testifying against Williams. “You’re going to hear that Mr. Broomer and Mr. Bryan may minimize their involvement, and that’s for you determine … and they’re both going to come in in their jail jumpsuits.”
Both Broomer and Bryan have agreed to testify for the state, with Broomer already having a deal in place and Bryan hoping to get one after his testimony. “But you’re also going to hear, that part of the agreement, is that they must testify truthfully.”
Both defendants, O’Connor says, will testify that Williams admitted to them he is the one who shot Lane.
Defense: ‘Lie, lie, lie’
Williams’ attorney, Stephanie Ritchie Mize, said all the prosecution had was a theory.
“‘Mr. Timothy Williams needed money,’ that’s it. That’s all they’ve (the state) got,” Mize said. “Are we going to hear any evidence that he actually needed money? Pay attention, because that’s their theory. And unfortunately, that’s all it is: a theory.”
Mize told the jury the state built their case on misinformation received from Broomer and Bryan. She explained that the co-defendants’ DNA and fingerprints led the police right to them, but not her client’s. “And what do criminals do when they’re caught red-handed?” she asked the jury. “They lie, and lie, and lie.”
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Mize told the jury it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Broomer and Bryan aren’t going to be telling the whole story. “They won’t tell the truth about who was with them (the defendants) that night, and they won’t tell the truth about who shot Mr. Lane.
“Unfortunately for the family that is seeking closure here today, Mr. Williams is not the third man,” Mize said. “I submit to you that at the end of this trial, you will also want to know who that third man could be. Who should be responsible for Mr. Lane’s murder? Because that investigation stopped when these two (Broomer and Bryan) said, ‘It’s Timmy.'”
Williams is facing one aggravated burglary charge, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated robbery, attempted first degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of a crime. The trial is set to resume at the Montgomery Courts Complex on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
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