William Jackson, 27, was ordered released to a halfway house Friday after he was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder while armed for the July 13 shooting death of Delonte Hemphill.
While responding to reports of gunshots in the 3500 block of 6th Street Southeast, police found Hemphill, 22, on the front steps of an apartment building, lying on his right side, and suffering from a gunshot wound. Police discovered blood, a torn braided hair, a multi-colored umbrella, and a pair of glasses lying in the blood on the front stoop near Hemphill.
A witness told police it saw Jackson or “Chill Will,” arguing with a man known to belong to a crew named “Trenton Park,” according to court documents. The witness then saw another member of the crew join the argument, leading to a physical confrontation.
More Trenton Park crew members gathered and assisted in assaulting Jackson, who was outnumbered, documents say. During the fight, before police showed up, someone fired a gun in the air and Jackson’s attackers ran way. Jackson suffered a head injury.
Another witness said that while hanging out, it heard gunshots and saw Jackson fire a weapon while standing in a “grassy area” near the playground. It saw Jackson then turn and run towards a building. According to video footage, the grassy area where Jackson was standing is within shooting range of where Hemphill was shot.
In an interview, Jackson told police on the day of the shooting he got into an argument with some “younger dudes” and a fight broke out, documents state. He told police that he was hit in the head with a gun. He denied that the fight had anything to do with the mother of his children, but said he had an ongoing feud with one of the men involved in the fight, court documents say.
According to documents, Jackson said that on July 13 he was in the 3500 block of 6th Street all day. He had asked Hemphill for a cigarette earlier in the day. He told police that after he heard shooting in the area, he ran and saw three or four guys running with guns.
According to documents, the second witness identified Jackson as the “one who had the gun and did the shooting” in a photo array provided by police.
Jackson is scheduled for a preliminary hearing January 9 at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Robert E. Morin
A copy of the charging documents are embedded below:
