A Columbus man has been charged with murder in the July 9 fatal shooting of 24-year-old Willie Dickerson at a home on Swedenburg Circle.
Freddie Williams, 38, was arrested Wednesday on Waterworks Road after he crashed his car attempting to elude law enforcement, Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said.
Deputies spotted Williams getting into a car in the 2400 block of Sixth Avenue North around 11:30 p.m. When they tried to pull him over, he fled, Hawkins said.
“He didn’t go far,” he said. “He went through a yard and a fence and then ended up rolling over.”
After the wreck he was taken into custody without any trouble, Hawkins said. Speeds in the pursuit never exceeded 35 miles per hour.
“We’ve actively been working this case and everything pointed to (Williams),” Hawkins said. “We went to a judge Wednesday and got a warrant for his arrest.”
Dickerson, of Jackson, Tennessee, had been visiting Columbus with a female friend over a couple of weeks prior to the shooting, Coroner Greg Merchant reported at the time.
Hawkins said Thursday Williams and Dickerson “had a previous beef between one another, and it appears this was a retaliation.”
Williams has a long previous history with law enforcement, Hawkins said, including 18 felony arrests — mostly drug and weapon charges, as well as burglary, shoplifting, and cyberstalking — and 14 misdemeanors.
In fact, Williams was out on bond for a July 13 arrest for possession of a firearm by a felon when he was arrested Wednesday, Hawkins said.
“He was already a suspect (in the murder) when he was arrested then, but we didn’t have enough evidence to hold him,” Hawkins said.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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