Seven witnesses came forward to testify against Undra Lamorris Williams for opening fire in the Inferno Sports Bar in May 2023.
On Wednesday afternoon, a jury of 12 sent Williams to prison for the rest of his life.
The jury deliberated for about a half-hour before convicting Williams of the murder of 33-year-old Devon Thompson and three counts of aggravated assault, 16th Circuit District Attorney Scott Colom said during a post-trial press conference at Lowndes County Courthouse.
Williams got life for the murder, plus 60 years – 20 for each aggravated assault count to run consecutively.
“To get a murder trial to verdict in 14 or 15 months, that’s pretty fast. That may be the fastest one I’ve done since I’ve been district attorney,” Colom said, noting his office and law enforcement made the case a top priority. “… (I hope it) sends a strong signal this type of violence is not going to be tolerated in our community.”
Williams was charged for fatally shooting Thompson and injuring four others in the nightclub on Highway 45 North at about 11:45 p.m. May 26, 2023. Thompson died at the scene, while two other victims were shot in the chest, one in the shoulder and another had a bullet fragment hit her foot. Williams turned himself in the next day.
Colom told The Dispatch after the press conference that the fourth aggravated assault count was dropped because neither law enforcement nor his office could track down the victim.
The ensuing investigation found clear surveillance evidence of Williams shooting inside the club, as well as seven witnesses willing to come forward, Assistant District Attorney Ben Lang said at the press conference.
“I felt like the strength of this case really was the people who were affected,” Lang said. “A community is only as strong as the people in it – good people doing hard, sometimes scary things.”
The club has closed since the shooting, Colom said, and that kind of violence disincentivizes others from opening clubs in the city for fear they can’t keep their patrons safe.
“It’s very sad that on Memorial Day weekend last year, people who were in that club, older adults, can’t go to a nightclub, have a drink or two, listen to music, talk to friends and feel safe,” he said. “That’s what Undra Williams took from our community when he decided to open fire in front of a bunch of people to shoot and kill Devon Thompson.”
Colom also noted verdicts like Wednesday’s should drive home for people that the consequences of violence don’t end with the person who is injured or killed.
“Over the last several years, we haven’t lost a murder case. These people are getting life plus 30 years, life plus 60 years,” he said. “… If you’re out there, don’t be surprised. Don’t be shocked. Don’t have anybody come and complain that the system is going to fail you. If you shoot and kill somebody in a nightclub, it ain’t the system’s fault. It’s your fault.”
Williams’ past brushes with Thompson, police
Williams’ beef with Thompson went back more than a decade before the Inferno shooting.
Thompson was arrested for three counts of aggravated assault following a Labor Day 2012 shooting, in which one teen was killed and Williams was wounded. A grand jury chose not to indict Thompson on the assault charges.
Five years later, Williams was arrested for an early morning Thanksgiving shooting after an event at Trotter Convention Center. Only one witness came forward to identify Williams as the shooter in that case, Colom said Wednesday, and that witness did not cooperate when the case went before a grand jury. So, Williams wasn’t indicted.
“In this case, not only did we have video, we had seven brave souls willing to put the community above street culture,” Colom said of the Inferno shooting. “… I do think the community was getting tired of Undra Williams. And it’s only when you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired that you can do something about being sick and tired.
“I think there was also a sense of, ‘We’ve got to do something about the gun violence in Columbus,’ and I hope it’s the beginning of a pattern,” he added.
Witness tampering
Colom also took the opportunity Wednesday to call on the legislature to enact stricter penalties for tampering with witnesses in violent crime cases.
Now, he said, the maximum penalty is two years, with offenders likely to get out in four or five months. He wants to see a mandatory 10-year sentence for witness tampering.
“On every serious violent case we have now, we have family members and friends of the suspect … tampering with our witnesses,” he said.
In the Williams case, Colom said, one witness covered her face with her hand while she testified during the trial. Other witnesses faced threats as well.
The club owner was offered several thousand dollars in a bribe to destroy video evidence of the crime, he said.
“The problem is they did it in such a way that we can’t identify them,” Colom said.
Nor have authorities identified a person shown in surveillance footage handing Williams a gun right before he started opening fire. Colom said his office is considering publicizing the person’s face from the video to see if it draws any tips to Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers.
In any case, Colom said, he wants witnesses to crimes to know they are often safer cooperating with authorities than not.
“There are things we can do to provide safety for our witnesses if there’s a legitimate threat,” he said.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
