LIMA — Facing 15 years to life in prison, Lima resident Terry Williams on Thursday accepted a negotiated agreement with prosecutors that will cap at 14 years the maximum amount of time he could spend behind bars for his role in the 2016 shooting death of Edward Henry.
A co-defendant in the case, Devonte Andrews, was sentenced earlier this month to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter with a three-year gun specification. During Thursday’s hearing, Williams alluded to Andrews as the “shooter” who killed Henry.
Emotions were running high in Allen County Common Pleas Court, and a scheduled change of plea hearing was delayed by some 30 minutes when some of Williams’ family members seemingly attempted to talk the 28-year-old Lima man out of accepting the deal offered by prosecutors. The courtroom was cleared to allow Williams to speak with those family members.
In the final analysis, Williams agreed to plead guilty to a pair of first-degree felony charges in exchange for the state’s dismissal of one count of murder and other charges in two separate cases. He entered pleas of guilty to an voluntary manslaughter charge with a firearm specification and a first-degree charge of aggravated burglary from an unrelated 2016 case. Under the terms of the plea deal, the state recommended the sentences be served concurrently. Judge Jeffrey Reed said he will follow that recommendation. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss all remaining charges against Williams.
A grand jury indicted Williams in a 2016 case on charges of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; felonious assault, a felony of the second degree and a first-degree misdemeanor count of assault. Those charges revolved around an unrelated incident that occurred in March 2016. More serious grand jury indictments were returned against Williams last year, including murder with a firearm specification, an unclassified felony, and a first-degree felony charge of discharging a firearm near a prohibited premises. Those counts were related to the Aug. 18, 2016, shooting death of Henry at the Lima Estates Apartments at 760 E. Fourth St., Lima. The shooting was said to be the result of what was described in earlier court hearings as a drug turf war.
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