April 14, 2023
(McKinney, Texas) – District Attorney Greg Willis announced that Carlton Williams, 35, of Cedar Hill, Texas, who fled during his recent trial for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon was located this week in Frisco, Texas. After refusing to surrender to law enforcement Monday afternoon, he was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and he died hours later.
“Public safety must always be the first concern of the criminal justice system and this case illustrates exactly why violent habitual offenders must be held fully accountable for their actions, even if that includes pre-trial detention,” said Willis. “I want to thank both the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Frisco Police Department for their dogged pursuit of this dangerous fugitive. Their relentless efforts and professional approach kept our citizens safe from further harm at the hands of this violent felon,” said Willis.
Williams was free on a $35,000.00 surety bond for the Aggravated Assault charge and failed to appear on March 22nd for the third day of his jury trial when the jury was scheduled to determine his fate. While on the run that same day, Williams is suspected of committing another Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon by shooting at a relative in Dallas County with a handgun.
When Williams failed to appear at his trial, Judge Faith Johnson issued a warrant for Williams’s arrest and the District Attorney’s Office immediately contacted Texas Rangers and Special Agents of the Texas Department of Public Safety who began searching for him. Williams was found in Frisco on Monday, April 10th, by these officers, and they then requested the assistance of the Frisco Police Department’s Special Operations Unit (SOU). For further information please refer to the Media Advisory from the Frisco Police Department regarding Call for Service #23039653 dated April 14, 2023.
Despite his absence in the courtroom, the trial continued and the jury convicted Williams and sentenced him under the Texas Habitual Offender statute to 43 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The jury that convicted Williams heard testimony about an August 29th, 2021, road rage incident in Plano where Williams exited his truck, banged on the victim’s window, and then retrieved a machete from his box truck. Williams threatened the victim’s life while slashing the victim’s front and rear passenger tires with the machete. Williams then fled the location when the light turned green. Several eyewitnesses observed Williams’s behavior at the busy intersection and testified at trial. The jury found Williams guilty, even with his voluntary absence from trial.
During sentencing, the jury heard evidence of three additional road rage incidents involving Williams, two in Dallas County in 2021, and one in another county in 2019. In both Dallas County offenses, Williams also brandished a machete to threaten the other drivers. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Williams had two prior felony convictions for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon in 2008 and Continuous Violation of a Protective Order in 2015, both out of Dallas County. Williams also had multiple misdemeanor convictions as well.
The District Attorney’s Office would also like to thank the Frisco Fire Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Plano Police Department for their assistance in this matter.
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