Repeat felon sentenced after being caught again with a firearm

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to seven years and eight months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on Sept. 23, 2021, Richmond Police officers recognized Lamar Javon Williams, 31, who was in the passenger seat of a vehicle with a black bag across his chest. Williams got out of the car without the bag and entered the store. As Williams was returning to the car, an officer approached Williams and briefly spoke with him before Williams walked away from the scene. The officers then spoke to the driver, who had a handgun in his pants pocket.

Officers recovered Williams’ bag from the passenger side floorboard. Inside the bag were a loaded handgun, a debit card with Williams’ name, and a “corner baggie” with 3.8 grams of heroin and fentanyl.

In 2012, Williams was convicted of malicious wounding in Richmond Circuit Court after he shot a man in the chest with a shotgun in December 2010. In 2014, while on a suspended sentence for the malicious wounding conviction, Williams was convicted of possessing a firearm as a violent felon. As a previously convicted felon, Williams could not legally possess a firearm or ammunition.

After obtaining a warrant for his arrest, officers located Williams at a gas station on March 25, 2022, and approached his car to arrest him. Williams sped off, almost hitting the police car. Williams was arrested after a brief chase, and was found in possession of a corner baggie of fentanyl and 10 Xanax pills.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Wright and Peter Duffey prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-158.