William Williams sentenced for Afo murder

William Williams has been sentenced to 35 years for the murder of Janus Afo.

Judge Daniel Goodell imposed the state’s recommendation Dec. 12 after hearing from six of Afo’s friends and relatives and Williams’ mother.

A jury convicted Williams of second-degree murder Oct. 4.

During the trial, jurors heard testimony from Williams, who said Afo was the aggressor on Sept. 28. Williams said he was sleeping in his car with Kennedy Karpf, his girlfriend, when Afo showed up looking to collect an alleged debt Karpf owed to Afo’s friend.

Williams testified he shot Afo in self-defense after Afo kicked Williams’ car, ripped off the rear-view mirror and forced open the passenger door.

Afo’s girlfriend Santana Krise told a different story.

Krise was also there the night of the murder and said in a matter of “seconds,” Williams opened the car door and shot Afo in the neck.

Krise and Williams both spoke to Goodell again before sentencing.

“I can’t take back what I did,” Williams told the court.

“I’m sorry for that,” he said.

Williams said he was afraid for his life the night of the shooting. He said he thought about what happened to Derrick Wily, who was “cut up and drug all over this county by his family.”

Afo’s brothers, Jordan and Jareau Afo, pleaded guilty in connection with the murder of Wily, who was their cousin.

According to court documents, Jareau choked Wily to death and Jordan helped dispose of Wily’s body. Jordan was caught disposing of the body near Isabella Lake, according to police.

“I didn’t want what happened to Derrick Wily to happen to me,” Williams said.

Krise, who is the mother of two of Janus Afo’s children, said she begged Afo to stay with her as she was putting pressure on his wound while he was dying.

She asked Goodell to impose the maximum sentence for Williams and said she wanted Williams to “stay in jail for the rest of his life.”

Goodell offered “profound condolences” to Afo’s family and friends before deciding Williams’ sentence.

“Mr. Afo is not on trial,” he said.

Goodell said the jury found that Williams’ actions were not justified.

He said he “struggled” with who opened the passenger door – Afo or Williams.

“It’s just as likely Mr. Williams opened the door,” he said.

He also stated the murder would not have happened if Afo had not gone out that night seeking Williams.

There was a “brief moment with a lot of violence going on,” Goodell said. “That’s what you have to weigh.”

On Dec. 4, Goodell denied Williams’ motion for a new trial after Williams’ attorney, Justus Kandoll, learned Krise has an alias and criminal past that the prosecuting attorney’s staff did not disclose, according to the motion.

Prosecutors said Krise “did not have any past criminal convictions,” according to Kandoll.

Kandoll said Krise, under the name Santa Lee Mesplie Sanchez, has prior arrest in Mason County for second-degree possession of stolen property, forgery, second-degree theft and is a defendant in an assault case in Chehalis Municipal Court.

Krise was a key witness for the prosecution and her credibility could have swayed the jury, Kandoll argued.

At the motion hearing, Kandoll said it was “fair to assume the state went over criminal history with the witness,” and he could not understand why prosecutors did not ask Krise about her past.

He said the State “hammered home” that Williams was a convicted felon so the jury should question Williams’ reliability. Kandoll said he should have been allowed to bring up Krise’s truthfulness, given her past crimes.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tyler Bickerton told Goodell the State was “unaware” Krise had convictions under another name.

He said the convictions were from 2005 and may not have been admissible by the court.

Bickerton said the “State followed all protocols” and said that by Kandoll’s reasoning, prosecutors would have to submit fingerprints for every witness.

Kandoll pointed out that prosecutors still had not asked Krise, who was in the courtroom, about her criminal convictions and pointed out Mason County Prosecutor Michael Dorcy has been with the prosecutor’s office since 2004.

“This was something that was in his office,” Kandoll said. “Records are within that office.”

Prosecutors called numerous witnesses at the trial, but only Krise could testify that Williams was the shooter, Kandoll said.

“She was the only witness that observed the shooting. Her credibility was absolutely an issue,” he told Goodell.

Goodell denied the motion for a new trial.

He said it wasn’t filed within the required 10 days after the verdict and even if he knew about Krise’s criminal history, he would not have allowed the convictions to be discussed with jurors.

“It would not have affected the jury verdict,” he said.