CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – On the final day of Timothy Lebrone Williams’ retrial, Judge William Goodman made an announcement that devastated most in the courtroom: a second mistrial. This time, the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.
The first murder trial began back in January but it was soon deemed a mistrial due to a distant family relation between the defendant and one of the jurors. The retrial began on July 29 and concluded Monday afternoon.
After their initial deliberation became deadlocked on Monday, Goodman called the jurors back to the courtroom to reread them part of the instructions. He sent them back out to deliberate further, but the result remained the same: No decision could be reached.
2017 home invasion shooting
On Nov. 7, 2017, prosecutors say, Williams and two co-defendants, Warren Broomer and Matthew Bryan, went to the home on Hundred Oaks Drive to purchase drugs from Christopher Lane. But instead, the men who entered the home attempted a robbery. They confronted the people in the home; then gunfire erupted. Christopher Lane, 34, was shot in the stomach and later died from his injuries. Lane’s father, Lonnie, was awakened by the gunfire, rushed downstairs to investigate, and was fired at several times. Two others in the home were held against their will.
In April 2021, Williams, 34, and Broomer and Bryan were indicted on multiple charges, including kidnapping and first-degree murder. Broomer and Bryan both agreed to testify for the state.
Last week, as the second trial for Williams wrapped up, the prosecution and defense ended with closing arguments in an attempt to paint a picture to the jury; although focused on the same subject, both sides created an entirely different picture.
Prosecution: ‘They had no intention to pay’
Deputy District Attorney Michael Pugh led the closing arguments with a statement given by Broomer in his testimony, that “they had no intention to pay,” and that the men intended to set up Christopher Lane for a home invasion.
Pugh said there was hard evidence that Broomer and the defendant Timothy Williams had communications in days before, the night of, and days following the home invasion. In the messaging thread, Williams asks Broomer what they are going to do when they “get there.” Broomer replies, “When we get there, we’re gonna handle it,” according to the text messages retrieved from Broomer’s phone.
Pugh said time and memory play a major part in this case, which can lead to inconsistencies between stories. However, he said, the stories all line up on the facts that matter in the case.
He also said the other defendants were minimizing their role in the home invasion; both of their testimonies painted them as more docile than they were. Bryan didn’t take much credit for his involvement, while Broomer made his murder attempt towards the victim’s father, Lonnie Lane, seem like an attempt to keep Lane calm.
Pugh’s argument then turned to the reason they set up Lane in the first place: drugs. Christopher Lane was a drug dealer and gave Broomer and Bryan a sample of marijuana. Broomer said they decided to do a setup, instead of a drug deal. “That (drug deal) doesn’t give the defendants the right to rob him … to shoot him,” said Pugh.
Defense: ‘More questions than answers’
Williams’ attorney, Stephanie Ritchie Mize, argued that Williams had no involvement in the home invasion or the homicide. No DNA belonging to Williams was found in the house or on weapons, and video and picture surveillance from the night of the robbery doesn’t show clear enough evidence that the person in both are Williams. This raises more questions than answers, which was a recurring theme in Mize’s argument.
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Mize argued that Williams was used as a scapegoat in the crime – a way for the other defendants to get out more easily and potentially face less jail time. Once Broomer realized late on the night of Nov. 7, 2017, that he’d left behind his hat and glove full of his DNA, he began working on a story to minimize harm to himself. Internet searches on his phone reveal that he was looking up how long it takes for DNA to be processed in a lab.
Mize also argued that the two witnesses who testified, Broomer and Bryan, are not credible and only showed up to receive a deal. She called their words a “ridiculous piece of testimony” and that not once did the co-defendants seem sorry for the harm they caused the Lane family.
Jury can’t come to unanimous decision
After a lunch break and jury deliberation – the total break lasting just under 2 1/2 hours – a note was passed to Goodman from the jury. It read: “What if we can’t reach a consensus? We’re about 50-50. We would like guidance about next steps.”
Both Mize and Pugh argued there wasn’t even enough time for the jurors to deliberate and asked that they go back in to continue deliberation.
Goodman called the jury back into the courtroom and read a passage of their jury instructions back to them. The passage stated that each charge must be considered separately, and they must reach a unanimous vote.
After another hour, the jurors gave Goodman yet another note, in a tense courtroom. The note explained that the jurors still could not come to a unanimous decision on all eight counts.
Goodman declared the mistrial. A third trial is set to begin on Sept. 11.
Chris Smith contributed to this report.
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