During the early morning hours of April 19, 2001, a lone gunman entered a Toot'n Totum convenience store at 211 S. Western Street in Amarillo, Texas.
Donald Heath was a 61-year-old employee working the overnight shift at the store that night. The store's security cameras showed the gunman as he entered the store wearing pantyhose over his face and carrying a small handgun.
Toot n' Totum, 211 S. Western Street, Amarillo TX
The gunman entered the store, raised his arm and shot Heath once, then left. Crime scene investigators recovered a spent .25-caliber shell casing, but no weapon was found at the scene or in the surrounding area.1 2
Initial investigation
Police interviewed witnesses in the area, including Allison Reed.
Reed, who had been at a friend's house nearby, described seeing a four-door sedan-type vehicle near the store and a tall black man walking past her.2
Another witness, Notorry Graves, viewed a photo lineup and pointed out a man who he believed was the suspect, Sedrick Ryan.
Police pursued the lead and obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan. When they served the warrant at Ryan's residence, hair samples and a pair of pantyhose were collected. They did not find a weapon.
Ryan's appointed counsel, Warren Clark, aggressively scrutinized the circumstances of Ryan's arrest. With the help of an investigator, Clark was able to call out the inconsistencies with Graves' statement placing Ryan at the scene.
After reexamining Graves' statement and finding he had been lying, police determined Ryan was not involved and released him.1
With no other leads for potential suspects, the case went cold.
Cold case reopened
In August 2006, Officer Jimmy Rifenberg and Sgt. Kevin Dockery reopened the case as part of a cold-case review.1
Dockery discovered that Milo Williams's name had surfaced during the original 2001 investigation but had never been pursued.2
Reinterviewing witnesses, Dockery learned from D.J. Golden that Golden, Charlie Meza, and Williams had stopped near the Toot'n Totum on the night of the murder to pick up another friend. While they waited, Williams left the vehicle and was gone for about five minutes; when he returned, he told the others to "go, go, go" even though they had never met up with the friend they'd been waiting for.
Meza corroborated Golden's account and told Dockery that Williams had admitted to trying to rob the convenience store.
Dockery also interviewed the woman who was dating Williams at the time of the murder; she recognized the clothing worn by the gunman in the surveillance video as clothing she had purchased for Williams.2
As Sgt Dockery was busy interviewing the witnesses, Officer Rifenberg reviewed the store's videotape from the night of the murder.
In the video, Rifenberg noticed what appeared to be a birthmark on the right side of the gunman's neck, visible as a shadow beneath the pantyhose mask. He took the footage to a local photo shop to have it enhanced.
The enhanced image showed that the gunman's birthmark appeared rectangular in shape.
Comparing the enhanced image to booking photos of Williams, investigators found he had a rectangular birthmark on the right side of his neck, behind his right ear, as well as chin hair matching the person in the video.1
Dockery also confirmed through Meza's statement that Williams would have had access to a four-door sedan similar to the vehicle witnesses had described near the crime scene on the night of the murder.2
Additional witnesses located during the renewed investigation shared information that Williams implicated himself in the shooting. It had apparently been planned as a theft, even though the video showed no attempt by the gunman to commit robbery.
Indictment and arrest
Based on the evidence gathered during the cold-case review, police arrested and charged Williams with murder.
In February 2007, a Potter County grand jury indicted Williams for the murder of Donald Heath1
William's crime spree
At the time of his long-delayed murder charge, Williams was easy to find: serving a 60-year sentence in TDCJ.
Milo Cradale Wiliams, April 10, 2001, Randall County Jail
Williams had been arrested a week before the shooting of Heath on a charge of burglary of a habitation in Randall County. He broke into the home of Jerry Kochaniuk in the early morning hours of March 27, 2001 and stole several items and two shotguns, ransacking the home in the process.3
The homeowner had a cigar box that he typically kept in his closet on a shelf. That cigar box was found tossed onto his bed, indicating the suspect had handled it.
A fingerprint was successfully lifted from the cigar box and run through the automated fingerprint identification system. One of the results was Jon Thompson. Officers investigated further and found that Jon Thompson was an alias used by Milo Williams.
A palm print and other fingerprints lifted from handled items showed that Williams had several accomplices. However, none were a match to any in the system.
Police arrested Williams on April 10, 2001. He posted bond three days later.
Donald Heath was shot to death inside Toot n' Totum on April 19, 2001.
Bank of America robbery
On May 4, 2001, around 4 p.m., two males entered the Bank of America, located at 3509 I-40 East, Amarillo, Texas.
Milo Williams drove the two men to the bank in a Ford Thunderbird.
Charlie King Meza, April 7, 2013, Randall County Jail
The men, identified as Charlie King Meza and Daniel Junior Golden aka D.J. Golden, wore bandanas to mask their faces. Meza carried a double-barreled shotgun.
Brandishing the firearm, Meza and Golden ordered the bank customers to the floor. An elderly woman who had difficulty getting down onto the floor was knocked down by Meza.
Golden leapt over the counter and ordered the tellers to put money in a black garbage bag. The cash stolen was later counted to be $7,805.41.
As the two exited the bank. Meza fired the shotgun across the bank lobby and teller counter. The bullets sprayed the wall behind the teller stations.
Golden and Meza left the bank and got into a separate getaway car driven by Marcus Samaniego. Later, the four men met up and split the cash.
Williams received more than $2,000 of the money stolen from the bank.4
Milo Cradale Williams, September 13, 2002 (Randall County Jail
Both Meza and Williams were arrested for federal charges of bank robbery on September 13, 2001 following a grand jury indictment.
Williams pleaded guilty in December 2001.5 On April 19, 2002--one year to the day of Heath's death--he was sentenced to serve 30 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Golden and Samaniego were juveniles at the time of the bank robbery.
Burglary conviction in Randall County
Milo Cradale Williams, March 16, 2004 (Randall County Jail)
While Williams was in the custody of the BOP, Federal authorities agreed to let Randall County prosecute him for the Kochaniuk burglary.
He elected for a trial by jury, which commenced April 9, 2003.
One of the witnesses who testified was Officer Jimmy Rifenberg. Ironically, the same officer would be instrumental in bringing the murder charge against Williams in 2007.3
The jury found Williams guilty of burglary of a habitation and sentenced him to 60 years in prison.
The BOP lists his release from custody as August 2003, whereupon he transferred into TDCJ to begin his sentence.
An appeal upholding his conviction was decided in February 2005.
Trial
Williams was tried before a Potter County jury for the murder of Donald Heath in February 2008. The proceedings took place in 320th District Court with Judge Don Emerson presiding.6
At trial, prosecutors sought to further tie Williams to a sedan-type vehicle matching the one witnesses had seen the night of the murder.2
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Charlie Meza testified that the group had been driving a Ford Thunderbird that night.
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Witness Allison Reed, when shown a photograph of a Thunderbird, testified it was similar to the vehicle she'd observed outside the store.
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Sgt. Dockery testified that Williams had driven a Ford Thunderbird during a bank robbery two weeks after Heath's murder. His testimony connected Williams to the Thunderbird which was the same car seen outside the store by Reed.
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D.J. Golden also testified that Williams had driven a Ford Thunderbird to take him and Meza to the bank they intended to rob. The State sought his testimony because it connected Williams and the Ford Thunderbird to Golden and Meza, who had testified they were with Williams that night.
Williams's defense counsel, Thomas McMillian, vigorously objected to any mention of the subsequent bank robbery. Judge Emerson, after hearing testimony outside the jury's presence, allowed a limited version of the testimony strictly to connect Williams to the vehicle.
FILE EXHIBITS: W/INVENTORY LIST
STATES
- Exhibit 1 - PHOTO
- Exhibit 2 - CANISTER CONTAINING BULLET
- Exhibit 3 - 8 - PHOTOS
- Exhibit 9 - ITEMS FOUND IN POCKET OF DECEASED
- Exhibit 10 - GREEN SHIRT FROM AUTOPSY
- Exhibit 11 - 31 PHOTOS
- Exhibit 32 - SHELL CASING
- Exhibit 33 - DOOR HANDLES
- Exhibit 34 - PHOTO
- Exhibit 38 - PHOTO
- Exhibit 39 - PAWN TICKET
- Exhibit 40 - PORTION OF PANTY HOSE
- Exhibit 41 - HAIR FROM PANTY HOSE
- Exhibit 42 - COMPARISON HAIR
- Exhibit 43 - 44 - PHOTOS
- Exhibit 45 - STORE VIDEO
- Exhibit 46 - ENHANCED CRIME SCENE VIDEO
- Exhibit 47 - 52 - PHOTOS
- Exhibit 53 - 58 - CRIME SCENE DIAGRAM
- Exhibit 59 - 61 - AREAL VIEW OF CRIME SCENE
- Exhibit 62 - TWO PAWN TICKETS
- Exhibit 62 - PHOTO LINE UP
- Exhibit 64 - CONSENT TO SEARCH - SEBASTIAN ROY
- Exhibit 65 - STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY PERKINS
- Exhibit 66 - FACTUAL RESUME FED.ROBBERY CASE
- Exhibit 67 - PEN PACKET
- Exhibit 68 - CHARGING DOCUMENTS AND JUDGMENT
- Exhibit 69 - EKG STRIP FROM SCENE
- Exhibit 70 - ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
- Exhibit 71 - AUTOPSY DIAGRAMS (71A, 71B & 71C)
- Exhibit 72 - COMPARISON PHOTO OF DEFENDANT
- Exhibit 73 - CHARLIE MEZA WRITTEN STATEMENT
- Exhibit 74 - ALLISON REED - STATEMENTS (74A & B)
- Exhibit 75 - ALBERTO SOLIS VENGAS - STATEMENT
- Exhibit 76 - DAVID PRAYLOR - STATEMENT
- Exhibit 77 - JESSICA SAUCEDA - STATEMENT
- Exhibit 78 - CRIME SCENE VIDEO
- Exhibit 79 - PARTIAL STORE VIDEO
- Exhibit 81 - PHOTO
- Exhibit 82 - NOTORY GRAVES PHOTO SET
- Exhibit 83 - LAB REPORT
- Exhibit 84 - SEGMENTED VIDEO CAMERA #1
- Exhibit 85 - SEGMENTED VIDEO CAMERA #2
- Exhibit 86 - ENLARGED PHOTO SHOWING MARK UNDER RIGHT EAR
- Exhibit 87 - ENLARGED PHOTO SHOWING FACIAL COMPARISONS
- Exhibit 88 - LARGE BLOW UP OF MILO WILLIAMS
- Exhibit 89 - SMALL PHOTO OF MILO WILLIAMS
- Exhibit 90 - BLACK NYLON STOCKING CAP
DEFENSE EXHIBITS:
- Exhibit 1 - NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Verdict and sentencing
On February 21, 2008, the Potter County jury found Milo Williams guilty of murdering Donald Heath in April 2001. The jurors deliberated for one hour before returning their verdict.7
On February 22, 2008, 47th District Court Judge Don Emerson sentenced Williams to life in prison in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice8
Williams appealed his murder conviction. On May 14, 2009, the higher court affirmed the conviction and life sentence in full2
Sources
Footnotes
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Amarillo Police Department Annual Report for 2007 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Milo Cradale Williams v. The State of Texas, No. 07-08-0109-CR, Court of Appeals of Texas, Seventh District, Amarillo, memorandum opinion, May 14, 2009 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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Milo Williams aka Jon Thompson v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 251st District Court of Randall County (Tex. App. 2005) ↩ ↩2
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USA v. Meza, et al, Indictment, filed September 11, 2001, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division ↩
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055244-00-D | State of Texas vs Milo Crandel Williams, 320th District Court of Potter County, filed February 15, 2007 ↩
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"Man Found Guilty Of Shooting Convenience Store Clerk," KFDA, Feb. 21, 2008 ↩
