Man claimed victim wasn’t dead in Las Vegas shooting. Now he’s guilty of murder
Jurors returned a guilty verdict Wednesday against a man who claims to have seen the man he was accused of killing in a holding cell after the shooting and also asserts that he acted in self-defense.
Nathan Williams, 50, was tried in connection with the April 5, 2022, shooting that police have said resulted in the death of Bryant Johnson, 46.
The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon and residential burglary in possession while possessing a firearm.
During hourslong testimony Tuesday, Williams complained about his prior lawyers, gave his version of the shooting, speculated about what he views as a conspiracy against him and alleged a “fake witness” testified at his preliminary hearing.
“I didn’t murder anybody and they’re still charging me with the murder,” he said. “And they have actual evidence that they know I didn’t murder anybody and they are still accusing me of murder.”
He acknowledged shooting Johnson twice, but said the alleged victim was trying to rob and kill him.
Williams spoke to the jury on direct examination in the form of narrative testimony, meaning he mostly testified without his lawyer asking him questions. Narrative testimony is sometimes used when an attorney believes their client is going to lie and doesn’t want to participate in presenting false information to the court.
Prosecutors pushed back on Williams’ testimony in closing arguments.
“There is absolutely nothing credible he said whatsoever yesterday about anything,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo.
He added that prosecutors feared jurors would see Williams as someone with serious mental problems when Williams is really a “habitual criminal who’s trying to get himself out of a murder he committed.”
Deputy District Attorney James Puccinelli argued that evidence indicated Williams was standing over Johnson’s body when he fired the second shot.
“The defendant in this case brought a gun to a literal fistfight,” the prosecutor told jurors. “The law in the state of Nevada says that’s not self-defense in this circumstance.”
Defense attorney Michael Sanft said Johnson had a high level of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the shooting. He argued evidence supported his client’s account.
“They showed nothing that would tell you it was not self-defense,” Sanft said of the prosecutors.
The defendant described the victim as a hothead.
“When Detroit is in a bad mood or something, you kind of want to try to avoid confrontation with him,” said Williams, referring to Johnson by a nickname.
“I know he has a propensity for violence,” the defendant added.
Williams said he accused Johnson of stealing his phone and car keys and Johnson denied committing the theft.
Johnson, he said, “starts to attack me. He pulls out a gun and jams it into my ribs and I grab his wrist and I take the gun from him.”
The other man began punching him and Williams fired a shot, he said. As Williams tried to leave, he said, Johnson attacked him again and he shot a second time.
Williams said Johnson laid on the floor but was still breathing. Williams said he instructed someone to call an ambulance, but also asked if anyone had seen his SIM card or car key. He then left the apartment “dazed,” he said.
Puccinelli argued Williams was armed, but Johnson was not.
After the shooting, Williams was arrested during a traffic stop with a gun in his car that turned out to be the weapon used in the killing, prosecutors have said.
Williams testified that one day, he was taken to a holding cell in the Regional Justice Center and saw a man he eventually realized was Johnson.
“God don’t make mistakes,” said the defendant.
In his telling, Johnson tried to speak with him, but Williams was upset and didn’t want to talk to Johnson.
“I don’t even have time to be happy that he’s alive, you know what I mean?” Williams testified. “Because my head is spinning: ‘Like, OK, who do they have me in here for killing?’”
There was a camera in the holding cell and for years, Williams has sought the video footage, he said.
“How many times do I need to say it?” he asked while under cross-examination. “Just get the video footage and we don’t got to go through this.”
Williams has claimed prosecutors withheld or destroyed evidence. Puccinelli has previously denied that prosecutors destroyed evidence.
“I’ve got a lot of people in on this conspiracy apparently, right?” Puccinelli asked Williams Tuesday.
Williams said he thought the coroner’s office might be part of the conspiracy. He believes the Metropolitan Police Department was also involved, he said.
One juror smiled in apparent amusement as Williams testified.
“Keep an open mind,” Williams told jurors. “But decide this case as if Detroit was shot on April 5th of 2022 (and) he was trying to kill you and rob you.”
Contact nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.