Background: The house in Lithonia, Ga., where Keenan Williams is accused of shooting and killing Cole Pitter. Inset top: Cole Pitter (Plummer Funeral Home). Inset bottom: Keenan Williams (DeKalb County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office).
A Georgia man will remain jailed while awaiting trial for allegedly gunning down his ex’s new boyfriend.
On Wednesday, a DeKalb County judge refused to grant bond for 35-year-old Keenan Maxwell Williams during a hearing, as reported by Atlanta’s ABC affiliate WSB. Williams faces charges of malice murder for the death of 36-year-old Cole Pitter on July 6, who was fatally shot on his girlfriend’s doorstep in Lithonia.
Pitter’s girlfriend was reportedly the mother of Williams’ child.
According to prosecutors, phone records indicate that Williams had been hiding in the bushes outside the woman’s residence for hours on several occasions, including the night he shot Pitter, as detailed by WSB.
Williams was arrested almost a month later, on Aug. 5, sheriff’s records show.
“Bond denied,” Judge Desiree Sutton Peagler declared during the virtual hearing, as reported by WSB. The family of Pitter expressed to investigators that they feared for their safety if Williams were to be released from jail.
“You never know who a person is or what can make a person snap – it’s kind of scary,” Cinamone Pitter, the victim’s sister, told the station.
Investigators claim that Williams had been harassing Pitter two months before the murder, including an incident where he allegedly shot at Pitter’s car while he was at the woman’s home. Williams is also accused of breaking into the house while Pitter was present just a week prior to the shooting. Law enforcement surveillance records reportedly showed Williams’ vehicle departing the scene shortly after the shooting occurred.
Williams’ lawyer has reportedly argued that he shot Pitter in self-defense. Williams apparently shot Pitter 10 times.
According to an obituary, Pitter was born in Queens, New York, and was a musician in his spare time.
“From the moment Cole Everton Pitter came into this world, he spread light, laughter, and warmth to everyone around him,” the tribute stated. “Cole’s life journey was marked by brilliance, creativity, and compassion.”
Court records in Williams’ case do not indicate a future hearing date.
