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Christian Williams (left) killed himself during the search for Joey Fournier (top left of the quadrant), Johnifer Barnwell (top right), Chavis Stokes (bottom left), and Marc Anderson (bottom right), deputies said. (Image of Williams: Bibb County Sheriff’s Office; images of the escapees: FBI)
A search for four escaped inmates uncovered a fifth fugitive who killed himself as U.S. Marshals closed in.
Christian Williams, 23, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after U.S. Marshals arrived at an apartment complex, The Pines on Vineville, on Monday morning, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia said.
Authorities said the federal agents knocked on an apartment door. A man spoke to them from behind the closed door, and gunfire pierced the door from his side as Marshals announced themselves. Authorities called for help from the sheriff’s office SWAT team.
“Once the SWAT Team was on the scene, they were met by a subject that was inside of the apartment when the gunfire occurred,” authorities wrote. “The subject advised that a male subject was down from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Authorities identified the fatally wounded man as Williams. He initially survived in critical condition but soon died.
Williams disappeared on the late night of March 5, just hours before being slated to stand trial for allegedly shooting and killing Greg Lamar Watkins Jr., 27, at a Chevron.
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Footage ostensibly shows at least two men kidnapping him. Bibb County Sheriff David Davis and Macon District Attorney Anita Reynolds Howard said at the time that they were not sure if Williams staged his disappearance, according to WMAZ.
Bibb County deputies told Law&Crime on Tuesday that Williams’ disappearance was staged.
His death crossed paths with another manhunt. The U.S. Marshals had been at the apartment complex following leads in connection to four men who escaped on Oct. 16 from Bibb County Detention Center:
- Joey Fournier, 52, a murder defendant. Authorities described him as white, with blue eyes and gray hair. He weighs 140 pounds and stands 5 feet, 9 inches. He has a tattoo stating, “I one.”
- Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, 37, is a federal drug trafficking defendant. Authorities describe him as Black, with brown eyes and black hair. He weighs 190 pounds and stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall. The FBI describes him as having tattoos on his neck, back, left arm, right arm, and leg. “He has a scar on his face,” they wrote.
- Chavis Demaryo Stokes, 29, is charged with possession of a firearm and drug trafficking. Authorities described him as Black, with brown eyes and black hair. He weighs 160 pounds and is 5 feet, 7 inches.
- Marc Kerry Anderson, 25, is an aggravated assault defendant. The FBI described him as Black, with brown eyes and black hair. He is listed as weighing 165 pounds and standing 5 feet, 9 inches.
Davis was vague about Williams’ alleged connection to the escapees.
“Let me make that clear — he is not one of our escapees,” Davis said when Christian Williams was still alive, according to WMAZ in a Monday report. “But he is a person that we feel has knowledge of where they might be, that has knowledge of the escape, and who has some connection to at least one or two of the people we’re looking for.”
But his link to another defendant in the case is crystal clear: Mykia Williams, who is charged with aiding an escape, is his girlfriend, deputies told Law&Crime. Another man, Jakaylen Billy Ray Williams (no relation, just friends), is charged with helping the fugitives escape.
Citing the open investigation, authorities declined to discuss the link between the living Williamses and the escapees.
Anyone with information should call the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), the USMS at 1-877-WANTED2. Tips may also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov or the USMS Tips App.
