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DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Ashanti Williams has pled guilty to one count of manslaughter after originally going to trial for a murder charge, but he is still facing two counts of criminal charges in Florida.
Williams was accused of being the getaway driver in the 2017 murder of Kendarrius DeWayne Martin, a 19-year-old from Dothan. Williams was 16 at the time of the murder.
Benjamin Freeman, Wiliams’s attorney, says his client took the plea deal offered by the state because he thought it was the best option available.
He is sentenced to 11 years in prison, with around 22 months of credited time served.
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Williams is currently facing two charges of grand theft of a firearm and burglary in Bay County Florida, said Mike Cazalas, the Public Relations Officer with the 14th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in Florida.
According to Cazalas, Williams was arrested on the two Florida charges in October 2020. His original bond was $20,000, but in June 2021, the state of Florida filed a motion for a bond modification to release Williams into Alabama custody to face the murder charge.
As of now, Williams is facing extradition to Bay County, but a decision on how to handle it will be made at a later date.
According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Williams has a pre-trial date set for March 9, 2023.
