A man has been sentenced to life in prison for a double shooting at a Norcross motel that left one man dead and another permanently blind, authorities said. Hakiem Sherif Williams, 29, received the sentence after a jury convicted him of charges including malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, according to a report by FOX 5 Atlanta.
In the trial, the jury heard how Williams targeted Mihn Nguyen and Cheng Xiu Han in September 2020 after he found out they were carrying a backpack full of cash. The incident unfolded when Williams sold drugs to the victims and then orchestrated for a stripper, identified as Mary Jo Tarr, to come to their motel room, as reported by Atlanta News First. Williams and Tarr used the allure of illicit pleasures to distract their prey, setting a stage for robbery turned murder.
While Tarr diverted the men's attention, Williams executed the robbery attempt which led to a fatal altercation. As Nguyen fought back, Williams responded with brutal force: he shot Nguyen in the face and head, killing him, and then shot Han in the head. Although Han survived the assault, he was left without his sight. After the crime, Williams, Tarr, and Williams' girlfriend, along with children present, fled to Wilmington, North Carolina. Tarr, unable to carry the weight of the secret, confessed to the person she was staying with, leading to an anonymous 911 call about the incident.
Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson underscored the gravity of the crime, stating, "This heinous robbery scheme caused irreparable damage to these victims and to their families." In a pursuit of justice, authorities used facial recognition and evidence from the victims' car to bring Williams to account. "Though the verdict won’t make these victims and their families whole, we hope that justice will help bring them solace," Austin-Gatson told FOX 5 Atlanta.
As the case draws to a close, certain details remain shrouded, including whether charges have been brought against Williams' girlfriend, who was identified in court but remains unnamed in the reports. The trial itself brought forth Tarr's testimony, which, paired with social media and video evidence, refuted Williams' claims and told the harrowing truth of the crime. Through these combined efforts, the case against Williams solidified, resulting in his lifetime incarceration—marked by an additional twenty years behind bars without the possibility of parole.
