Benjamin Ashford|Shooter at Southern University frat party takes plea deal

BATON ROUGE,Benjamin Ashford La. (AP) — A Louisiana man has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars for firing shots into a crowd at a 2022 fraternity party near Southern University’s campus in Baton Rouge.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped 11 counts of attempted murder against Jaicedric Williams, 24, of Baton Rouge, The Advocate reported. Williams then pleaded guilty Thursday to illegal use of weapons, illegal possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful handling of machine guns, the newspaper said.

State District Judge Louis Daniel imposed the sentence after prosecutors and Williams’ attorney spent weeks finalizing the negotiated plea. He handed down maximum prison stints on each of the three counts and allowed Williams to serve time on each of them simultaneously.

“Given the difficulty of establishing the identity of the perpetrators and their participation in this senseless act of gun violence, the resolution held each participant accountable,” East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said in a statement.

An estimated 1,000 people were at an Oct. 21, 2022, homecoming luau at the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house when a fight broke out shortly before 2 a.m. Members of the fraternity were walking through the party when they bumped into Williams and his friends.

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Police said Williams pulled a gun during the subsequent fight and fired into a crowd of partygoers, wounding 11 people.

Williams was one of three men indicted in the case. Miles Moss, 26, pleaded guilty Oct. 18 to a felony count of accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 months. Daryl Stansberry, 29, pleaded guilty Feb. 15 to criminal conspiracy to attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to five years.

The three men worked together at a north Baton Rouge auto body shop. Stansberry told police Williams confided in him and Moss at work, admitting to them that he shot up the party.

Prosecutors said that statement was the basis for the illegal use of weapons charge to which Williams pleaded guilty. The two other counts stemmed from a raid at Williams’ home after the shooting. Baton Rouge police found a Glock pistol with a “switch” mechanism that converted it into an automatic machine gun in a hallway closet. They also recovered a stolen rifle from Williams’ bedroom, Assistant District Attorney Stephen Pugh said.

When Daniel asked Williams if he had any children, the defendant said he has two who were born the day after he was arrested in connection with the shooting. He said he has never been able to touch either of them because he’s been incarcerated.

“Either you’re going to create some lifestyle changes or you’re never going to be able to love and support those children the way they deserve to be,” the judge told Williams.