A transient man convicted in 2020 of killing a Kelso woman working at a convenience store has been resentenced following a 2021 Washington State Supreme Court decision that made the defendant's mandatory life sentence without parole unconstitutional due to his age.
D’Anthony Leslie Williams, 26, was resentenced to 50 years in prison on Friday, according to a Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney's Office press release.
Williams was 19 when police say he shot and killed 30-year-old cashier Kayla Chapman during an armed robbery in the early hours of Jan. 22 2019, at Holt's Quick Check off North Pacific Avenue in Kelso.
The U.S. Supreme Court already held that those under 18 cannot receive automatic life sentences for murder, but in a 5-4 decision in 2021, the Washington Supreme Court said the same rationale must apply to 18- to 20-year-olds, according to the Associated Press. Offenders who, while over 18 and legally considered adults, might remain in adolescence from a brain-development standpoint.
Surveillance footage showed Williams took cash from the register on that January 2019 day, as well as Newport cigarettes and Chapman's phone, before shooting her, according to the police report that led to Williams' arrest.
That footage was also played during his 2020 trial, the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney states in the press release.
A juvenile probation officer and a family member helped identify Williams from photos released by the Kelso Police Department at the time. Soon after the reported robbery, a Vancouver woman who knew Williams told police he took her car without permission and wouldn't return it, court records show.
Williams was arrested in Camas, with Newport cigarettes on him and a bag of what police suspected was meth, according to arresting documents.
A jury found him guilty in November 2020 of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance. During the trial, police said they believed Williams came to Kelso for a drug deal, then decided to rob the convenience store.
In the recent resentencing, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Bentson requested life without parole, while Williams' public defender requested 25 years.
