Killer again charged with murder, this time by Navy

NORFOLK

It was late last August, and 42-year-old Rodney Williams, on trial for murder, was about to learn his fate.

Guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the jury said, punishable by up to a decade in prison.

But when the panel came back a few days later with a sentencing recommendation, it suggested something very different: 12 months, and a $2,500 fine.

For Williams and his attorney, it was stunning victory. Even the judge said so; short of acquittal, he told Williams, it couldn't have ended any better for him.

For the family of the victim, 29-year-old Nicholas Nalls, it was a devastating blow. "We just couldn't understand it," Nalls' father, Jerry Carter, said recently. "I can't tell you how disappointed I was to hear that my son's life was worth 12 months."

Someone else was disappointed in the outcome, too: The U.S. Navy. Unlike Nalls' relatives, though, the Navy had the authority to do something about it.

Williams, a husband and father of three, enlisted in 1994. On Oct. 5, 2008, the night he shot Nalls in a bar parking lot in Norfolk, he was an active-duty chief petty officer, subject to military law.

A month after a Circuit Court judge confirmed the jury's 12-month sentencing decision, the Navy charged Williams with murder. Now finished with his state time, he's in the brig at Norfolk Naval Station, set to appear in military court next week for an Article 32 investigation, akin to a civilian preliminary hearing. The case could go to court-martial by fall.

While it's unusual for the military to pursue prosecution in a matter that's already been tried in the civilian system, it's not unlawful. Double jeopardy protections only prohibit more than one prosecution by a single sovereign entity - a state or the federal government. Williams' first trial was in a state court; military courts are part of the federal government.

Beth Baker, a Navy spokeswoman, said the service chose to take action in this case because it "wasn't happy with the outcome of the first trial."

"There are military concerns that were not addressed," she said.

In court, Williams' private attorney, George Yates, argued that Williams shot Nalls in self-defense. According to testimony, Williams told police that he and Nalls, who didn't know each other, had briefly exchanged words outside the bar, the Locals Satellite Sports Grill near The Gallery at Military Circle. Williams said he then saw Nalls, part of angry crowd, reach for something he thought was a weapon. "He was threatened and he defended himself," Yates told jurors.

The prosecution said the self-defense claim was bogus.

Williams shot Nalls eight times, an autopsy showed. He also allegedly shot another man, a friend of Nalls, in the foot. Williams had no previous criminal record, Yates said. Nalls, a Navy veteran and father of four who was living in Virginia Beach, wasn't armed, his father said.

Carter, who came with relatives from Alabama for the trial, said he believes Williams' Navy service played a significant role in the jury's decision. "Every time he came to court, he was in his uniform. And the audience was filled with people in uniforms, too," Carter said. "And he wasn't Defendant Williams or Mr. Williams. He was Chief Williams. They discredited my son's character while they made Rodney Williams into a good family man, a Navy man."

The Navy has acknowledged that Williams' military service may have influenced the trial, and Baker said it's among the reasons the Navy decided to pursue a second prosecution.

At the time of the shootings, Williams was assigned to the 2nd Fleet's Tactical Land Attack Missile Detachment in Norfolk. He is an information systems technician.

He remains on active duty. The Navy said he did not receive pay while he was incarcerated at Norfolk City Jail, though he is being paid now.

He is charged with murder and aggravated assault and is being represented by two military lawyers, Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Stormer and Lt. Michael Whitican. A spokesman said neither had any comment.

Yates said he's "deeply disappointed" in the military's decision to prosecute Williams.

"It really saddens me that our military would do this to him," he said. "It may be legal, but that doesn't make it right.

"It's certainly double jeopardy in my mind."

Corinne Reilly, (757) 446-2949, corinne.reilly@pilotonline.com