So say you one, so say you all: guilty
After sitting on it all weekend, jurors offered up their verdict on Williamson and Williamson this morning: dad's a murderer, son just gets assault.
SAN FERNANDO - Alvaro Williamson showed no emotion at all as jurors found him guilty of murder - and spared his son.
For the past month, the 42-year-old ex-Marine from Arleta sat next to his 18-year-old son, Jacques, as co-defendants. Prosecutors accused them of killing their neighbor, Filemon Ramos, and attempting to kill his son, Filiberto, in a long-running feud over parking, trash, obscene gestures and loud music near their homes at Woodale Avenue and Fillmore Street.
Jurors deliberated for less than three days, arriving at a verdict Friday and unsealing it Monday morning in San Fernando Superior Court. They convicted the elder Williamson of first-degree murder and assault with a firearm, but found him not guilty of attempted murder. His son dodged the most serious charges, murder and attempted murder, but the jury found him guilty of assault with a firearm for handing his father the murder weapon.
The father now faces life in prison, while the son could get up to five years for his role in the May 25, 2006, shooting that left Filemon Ramos dead and Filiberto Ramos wounded.
"Al anticipated this," said Geni Clark, Alvaro Williamson's cousin. "He's got to pay for the crime. ... It's such a sad situation. Sad for their family, sad for our family. Al's basically a good person, but he just snapped, I guess."
And she's very right on that. Because Mr. Williamson couldn't keep his temper in check on his final night of freedom, one man ended up dead and another got shot. He had to sell his house to pay for his defense, his son turned 18 in jail and he missed his daughter's 21st birthday.
His attorney, Milton C. Grimes, put up a hell of a fight and the other attorneys gave him serious kudos. Deputy DA Paula Gonzales even gave him props in her closing argument, calling him a gifted and talented speaker.
"He's a master in the courtroom," said Mark S. Shapiro, who successfully defended the younger Williamson. "I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd been found not guilty."
But the jury didn't go for it, so I'd expect to see Williamson serving some serious time when we reconvene March 7 for sentencing. Though his son should get out much sooner, he and everyone else connected to that horrible night won't be able to let it go for a long, long time.
Leave a comment