Trial begins for suspect who claims to have seen man after alleged Las Vegas killing
Prosecutors said in a Tuesday opening statement that evidence will be “overwhelming” against a defendant who insists he saw the man he is accused of killing in a holding cell after authorities say the fatal shooting occurred.
A defense attorney for 50-year-old Nathan Williams told jurors the prosecution would not be able to prove its case and asked the jury to reserve judgment until the end of the trial.
“The evidence that you have or you’re going to see in this particular case isn’t necessarily what the state has demonstrated to you,” said Williams’ lawyer, Michael Sanft. “There’s going to be questions and there’s going to be holes in what they have told you here today.”
Sanft did not mention his client’s claim to have seen the man who was fatally shot.
Police have said Williams killed Bryant Johnson in an apartment at 2730 E. Bonanza Road on April 5, 2022.
“I saw him with my own eyes and I’ve been asking for that video footage ever since then,” Williams said in a hearing last week. He has claimed surveillance footage would back him up.
Deputy District Attorney James Puccinelli told the court that evidence would include eyewitness accounts, surveillance footage, forensic evidence and cell phone data.
Williams was arrested April 11, 2022, after a traffic stop while he was driving his Mustang, according to Puccinelli, who said police found a “literal smoking gun” hidden in the gear shift that turned out to be the weapon used in the killing.
“All of this evidence that will be presented to you over the course of this trial will conclusively prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant in this case, Nathan Williams, shot and executed Bryant Johnson,” he said.
The day of the killing, police officers responded to the apartment for a call that someone had been shot and was unresponsive, according to Puccinelli, and found Johnson on the kitchen floor with gunshot wounds to his chest.
A witness said the person who killed Johnson was nicknamed “Black” and wore a black Versace t-shirt with gold lettering when the shooting happened, he said.
“She informed detectives that ‘Black’ shot and killed Bryant Johnson because he accused Bryant of stealing a key from him,” Puccinelli said.
The witness also told detectives that “Black” drove an older red and white Mustang with racing stripes, Puccinelli said, and investigators found surveillance footage from the day of the slaying, showing a man who matched the suspect’s description at gaming machines.
Puccinelli said a cashier had noticed the man. “He kept getting up from his gaming chair, going over towards the front door of the Rebel gas station and actually looking out the window, down East Bonanza in the same direction where the murder had just taken place minutes prior,” the prosecutor said.
Other footage from immediately after the killing showed a man matching the witness’ description leave the apartment, he said.
Two days before Johnson was shot, an officer had contact with Williams, who was in the Mustang described to police, according to the prosecutor.
The defendant had also searched on his phone for news about a shooting in the place where the slaying took place, he said.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.