Closing arguments held in sanity phase of bus shooter’s trial
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The trial of Anthony Devonte Williams is nearing its end as closing arguments were presented Monday on whether he was insane when he opened fire on a Greyhound bus four years ago.
Williams, 37, pleaded both not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in the deadly shooting that occurred early Feb. 3, 2020, as the bus traveled north over the Grapevine. Lurbis Elena Vance, 51, was hit multiple times and died at the scene, and another woman was hit and paralyzed from the chest down. Four others were also struck.
Sheriff’s office seek help ID’ing robbery suspect last seen in Rosedale
Deputy Public Defender Nick Roth said Williams was legally insane when he fired, meaning he suffered from a mental disease or defect and didn’t understand his actions were legally or morally wrong.
Prosecutor Stephanie Taconi said Williams’ own words establish he was clearly sane. He told officers he knew what he was doing and if he shot someone they would die, acknowledged his acts were wrong and said his fears and worries didn’t lead him to start firing — he made a choice.
She said there are about two dozen examples Williams knew what he was doing was morally wrong.
“He was absolutely, 100% sane when he committed these acts,” Taconi said.
If the jury decides Williams was insane, he will be sent to a state hospital, possibly for life. If it decides he was sane, he’ll be sent to prison for a life term.
The jury began deliberating around 3:30 p.m.
Earlier this month, Williams was found guilty of murder and multiple other crimes. He admitted bringing a gun onto the bus headed from Los Angeles to Oakland and said he began shooting after arguing with a man as they traveled north on Interstate 5, south of Fort Tejon Road.
Noting Williams appeared calm and coherent in recorded interviews, Roth in his closing argument said people with psychotic or delusional illnesses can appear “relatively normal” then experience an episode, the length and seriousness of which can vary.
Never miss a story – Make KGET.com your homepage
Roth went over the findings of doctors who examined Williams. Three found him insane, one sane.
The attorney pointed out unusual statements Williams made to law enforcement indicating he was paranoid, playing portions of his recorded interview. At one point, Williams told officers he could hear people talking about him, joking about him.
Williams said he believed someone had hacked his phone and could see everything he saw.
“They know what my kids look like,” Williams said during the interview. “They know everything about my life that’s in my phone.”
Williams’ delusions had him believing his family was in danger and his life was in danger when he started shooting, Roth said.
Taconi argued Williams wasn’t afraid of anyone — he brought a fully loaded gun onto the bus. He ejected the first bullet as a warning, she said, then fired until it was empty. He left the bus after someone wrestled the gun away.
His actions and statements — telling people “It’s about to get real, it’s gonna pop” — don’t reflect someone in fear of his life or so impacted by a mental health disorder he doesn’t know what he’s doing, the prosecutor said.
As for the doctors called by the defense, they didn’t review all the evidence, such as recorded interviews, despite having access to it, Taconi said. The tests administered by one doctor two or three years after the shooting were based only on answers given by Williams.
One doctor, she said, relied on hearsay in forming their opinion and ran only one test on Williams.
“Plain and simple, the work done by the defense, and the defense doctors in this case, was not good enough,” Taconi said.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
