On the lam for months, third suspect in motel slaying turns himself in

A suspect in last summer’s Budget Inn slaying who’d been on the lam for months is now in custody.

Willie Clarence Walters, 18, of Perry, booked into the Houston County jail late Saturday afternoon, jail records show.

Detectives think Walters fled the state after the slaying and returned last week, according to a Warner Robins police news release. He turned himself in at the jail.

Walters, along with Malik Golden and Kendra Tillery, both 19 and of Warner Robins, are facing trial on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Walters was indicted Jan. 24 by a Houston County grand jury, but had been a suspect for more than three months in the slaying of 34-year-old Donell Nathaniel Hawkins, according to arrest warrants.

Hawkins was found dead, shot once in the chest, about 11 p.m. June 28 in front of room No. 103 at the Budget Inn on Watson Boulevard.

Golden and Walters allegedly conspired to rob Hawkins, who had been staying at the motel and was suspected of selling drugs, according to arrest warrants. Tillery allegedly lured Hawkins into a position to be shot.

Golden and Tillery were arrested Oct. 20 sleeping inside a 2006 Chevrolet Impala parked outside a home in Waterbury, Connecticut. Both are being held without bond in the Houston County jail.

A fourth person, Ronterious Napier, 25, of Perry, was charged with hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal for allegedly making sure the gun used in the slaying was “clean” and in a safe place, according to arrest warrants. He is free on a $10,000 bond.

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 11:42 AM with the headline "On the lam for months, third suspect in motel slaying turns himself in."