Second teen charged in fatal shooting

The 18-year-old accused of driving the car used in the deadly Palo Verde High School drive-by shooting is now facing murder charges.

Prosecutors formally charged Ezekiel Williams with one count of murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder and several counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 15 shooting that left Palo Verde freshman Christopher Privett dead.

"The evidence is coming in and pointing to him (Williams) being involved in the murder," county prosecutor Giancarlo Pesci said.

Williams appeared in court via teleconference with his co-defendant, 16-year-old Gerald Q. Davison, on Monday morning. They stood side by side but didn't speak during the short hearing. As in earlier hearings for the teens, a group of at least a dozen supporters sat in the courtroom to watch the proceedings. One young woman clutched a bouquet of flowers.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Williams and Davison for March 19.

Authorities accuse Davison of firing into Privett's group at Alta Drive near Pavilion Center Drive, killing Privett. Williams drove the car, encouraged Davison to fire the .22-caliber pistol and tried to get rid of evidence, according to a Las Vegas police report.

Williams' mother, Caren Jones, spoke briefly after the hearing. She had difficulty speaking without choking up and her voice barely rose above a whisper.

Jones said she saw Williams at the county jail on Sunday and he was "doing OK."

"Everybody's praying for him," she told reporters.

Attorney Brent Bryson, who is representing Williams, said he was filing a request late Monday to get Williams out of jail on house arrest. He said he wasn't surprised that prosecutors chose to ratchet up the charges against Williams.

"The district attorney has decided to charge him with anything that they think could possibly stick," Bryson said.

Davison is being kept in isolation at the county jail because of his age. His attorney, deputy public defender Norman Reed, said Davison is scared because he has never been in jail before.

Davison is remorseful and distraught over the shooting and is cooperating with authorities, Reed said.

Reed said that the facts of the shooting are well known but the motive remains murky. Williams told police of an altercation between Davison and four other youths moments before the shooting. But another witness told police that someone in Privett's group was throwing gang signs at her while she was in the car.

According to a Las Vegas police report, Davison told police he was trying to scare four classmates from Palo Verde. "There are circumstances and information that need to be brought to light," Reed said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-1039.