Man shot dead in his home knew the men charged, his family says

Lance Adrian Williams knew the men charged with his slaying, his family says.

Williams, known as “Goat” by friends and family, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest inside his Warner Robins home July 8.

Anighyah Zhalon Neal, 21; Voneric Chante Richardson, 22; and Kadarius Latdravius Kendrick, 20, are charged with murder in the armed robbery.

The lives of the victim and the accused were intertwined. They all grew up in the community of Perry, and their families all know each other, Williams’ family said.

“That’s why it hurts so bad,” said Tomesecia Williams, one of the victim’s sisters.

She said she supports and remains close friends with Neal’s mother. Neal is the accused shooter in the case.

She said Richardson and Kendrick were at a cousin’s house the day before her brother’s slaying.

One of her sons drove Neal to Atlanta after the shooting, not knowing what had happened, said her father, Danny Williams.

Danny Williams said his grandson, the person who drove Neal to Atlanta, started receiving phone calls from friends that Neal was a suspect in the killing, and he pulled over at an Atlanta convenience store and confronted Neal.

Neal allegedly pulled a gun and then fled, Williams said.

Five days after the slaying, Neal was arrested in Atlanta by members of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Lance Williams, 30, had a good job at the Blue Bird Corp. in Fort Valley. He was happy and seemed to be enjoying himself, Tomesecia Williams said.

He was into the Black Lives Matter movement, noted another sister, Lashawn Williams. He had traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, this year to see rapper and activist David Banner, as well as school psychologist and Pan-Africanist Dr. Umar Johnson.

He and his friends were into rapping and had an entertainment group they called 1205 Entertainment, his sisters said.

He was well-known and had many friends, with a flurry of Tweets and other social media activity on his behalf after his death with the hashtag #longlivegoat.

His memorials were well-attended, with friends and family filling a large, grassy area on State Avenue in Perry for a candlelight vigil and balloon release July 15 and a memorial July 16. The grassy area is across from a home where some of his family members live.

But while life was good, Lance Williams also may have had some habits and been involved in activity that put him at risk, his family said.

Danny Williams said he thinks his son may have been making money on the side by selling an anti-anxiety medication. He also may have had firearms in his home that he bought on the street, Williams said.

He was known to flash cash and carry large amounts of it at times. He often posted pictures of himself on his Facebook page with money. His father said he thinks cash and guns are strong motives for robbery.

Court records show Lance Williams had a felony conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in Houston County.

Shortly before 2 p.m. July 8, Warner Robins police found his body after responding to multiple 911 calls of a suspicious person near his home at 604 Richmond Hill Parkway. He lived there with a close friend and his family.

A neighbor told The Telegraph that a man was running through the yard and leaping over fences. The man jumped into a late-’90s-model maroon Mercury Sable with two other men, and the car sped off.

Richardson, the driver, was arrested by authorities July 9 at the Days Inn Motel in Perry.

According to an arrest warrant, Richardson “admitted he drove the co-defendants to the victim’s residence, where co-defendant Neal shot and killed the victim.

“The accused (Richardson) also admitted he picked up the co-defendant, Neal, after the shooting and drove co-defendant Neal to Perry and dropped him off,” the warrant said.

The third person, Kendrick, later turned himself in at the Houston County jail.

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Man shot dead in his home knew the men charged, his family says."