The image background depicts a news story covering a candlelight vigil held for Jimmie Lee Pierce Jr. following his passing in 2022 (WLBT). The smaller image on the left shows Jimmie Lee Pierce Jr. (Artic Obits), while the one on the right features Le’Andrew Williams (Hinds County Detention Center).
A Mississippi teenager who pleaded guilty to shooting his mother’s boyfriend dead has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
On social media this Tuesday, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens revealed that Le’Andrew Williams, aged 19, has been handed a 35-year prison sentence along with an additional five years under post-release supervision after admitting to the first-degree murder of 49-year-old Jimmie Lee Pierce Jr. The shooting occurred in May 2022 while Pierce was outside his apartment in Jackson. At the time of the crime, Williams was 15 and was among three individuals apprehended for their involvement in the incident.
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As per court documentation reviewed by WJTV, a local CBS station, Williams harbored anger toward Pierce, his mother’s romantic partner, which led him to plan a confrontation. Reports from WJTV indicate that in the days preceding the deadly encounter, Williams had been examining his mother’s phone and discovered explicit exchanges between her and Pierce.
Williams had originally planned on robbing Pierce at his home, and he got his cousin, 22-year-old Corey Hodge, and uncle, 27-year-old Bonny Fields, to help him carry out the act. WAPT, a local ABC affiliate, reported that a witness at the scene on May 16, 2022 saw Williams and Hodge approach Pierce and demand his wallet. The witness told the Jackson Police Department that Pierce told them, “We don’t have anything.” Williams then shot Pierce in the chest twice.
Pierce died of his injuries after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Williams, Hodge, and Fields all turned themselves in to police days after the shooting. Williams and Hodge were charged with capital murder; Fields was charged as an accessory after the fact.
Williams later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
