By Carol Robinson
al.com
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ala. — A Birmingham man has been convicted in the shooting death of Moody police Sgt. Stephen Williams more than three years ago.
Williams, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant, was killed June 2, 2020, while on duty.
A St. Clair County jury on Thursday convicted 31-year-old Tapero Carleone Johnson of capital murder. On Friday, that same jury recommended Johnson be sentenced to death.
“On June 2nd 2020, Lt. Stephen Williams was brutally murdered while responding to a call for service. Today, a jury returned a verdict of death for Tapero Johnson,’' Moody police Chief Reece Smith said in a statement to AL.com. “And though this does not heal all wounds from this tragic loss, it does send a message that justice still prevails in our society.”
Reece thanked the St. Clair County District Attorney’s Office and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office for their work in this case.
“Please keep the family, friends and co-workers in your thoughts at this time,’' Smith said.
District Attorney Lyle Harmon also said he is thankful for the verdict and all who helped bring the investigation and trial to a successful conclusion.
“This jury endured 10 days of testimony, including witnessing video that captured the ambush and murder of Lt. Williams,’' Harmon said. “With these verdicts, this jury has sent a message that St. Clair County will not tolerate the murder of those who protect and serve our community.”
“Lt. Williams responded to a 911 call at the Super 8 Motel in Moody. As he knocked on the door, he was immediately met with gunfire from inside the room,’' Harmon said. “The defendant fired 43 rounds through the wall and door of the motel and used four different weapons during the assault.”
“I would like to thank all the local and state law enforcement agencies that responded to the chaotic scene,’' he said, “and for the heroism that they displayed.”
The trial began in St. Clair County on Oct. 16 before Circuit Judge Phil Seay. Judges can no longer override a jury’s recommendation and Johnson’s formal sentencing will be held Nov. 15.
The second suspect, 31-year-old Marquisha Tyson, also of Birmingham, is set to go to trial in March.
Attorneys for Tyson had filed a motion saying she would not testify against Johnson in his trial.
Williams, a 50-year-old father of three, had been a police officer for 23 years, the last three of those at the Moody Police Department. He began his law enforcement career at the Bessemer Police Department and then served the Alabaster Police Department.
He had just been promoted to sergeant in the year before his death and was a recipient of the Officer of the Year award in memory of Keith Turner, who was shot to death June 27, 1998, and was the last Moody officer killed in the line of duty.
Williams was born and raised in Mississippi and, after graduating from Mississippi State, served his county in the U.S. Air Force.
“In his short time with the City of Moody, he impacted the lives of not only many of the residents of the community, but those police officers that served with him,’’ according to his obituary.
“Stephen took pride in mentoring and teaching the young police officers entering on duty and took the time to impress on them not just the normal things a training officer may impart on a new officer, but how to see all members of the community in a way that is so important for a police officer, as real people. People who often at the lowest part of their lives deserved the compassion and respect of those who not only enforced the law, but those that tempered that enforcement with love for their fellow man.”
Nearly 1,000 mourners attended Williams’ funeral. His sons - both in the U.S. Coast Guard - had pinned his lieutenant bars on their father’s body, just as he pinned their bars on them when they were commissioned as officers.
The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. that Tuesday at the Super 8 motel on Moody Parkway when Williams, the night-shift supervisor, and other officers responded to the motel. The call for service turned into a barrage of gunfire during which Williams was struck.
A medical helicopter was sent for Williams, but the officer was instead taken by ambulance to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Both suspects were quickly taken into custody.
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