93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A Columbia man who admits shooting a woman to death last fall on Blue Ridge road in a domestic incident will be sentenced this afternoon at the Boone County Courthouse.
32-year-old Montez Williams pleaded guilty last month to second degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, resisting arrest and another felony for the November 2022 shooting death of April Joann Brooks of Cuba, Missouri … who was shot to death in a running vehicle. There was a high-speed pursuit after the murder.
The Columbia Police Department’s heavily-redacted four-page probable cause statement quotes Williams as telling CPD detectives that he threw the silver handgun he used to kill Brooks out his car window, as CPD officers were pursuing his vehicle down Clark lane. The court documents also indicate a child was inside the vehicle, when Brooks was killed. Boone County Circuit Judge Brouck Jacobs has scheduled a 1:30 sentencing hearing for today.
Under state statute, Williams faces a minimum sentence of ten years and could face a life prison sentence. A second degree murder conviction means Williams will be eligible for parole once he serves 85 percent of his murder sentence. It’s unclear of Brooks’ family members will deliver victim impact statements at today’s sentencing.
Columbia had 11 homicides in 2022, and nine of them involved domestic violence. Brooks’ murder was one of them.
