Wow. This whole thing is just crazy. You'd think a justice of the peace might be aware that surveillance cameras could easily catch him hauling off computer equipment from county offices. And you'd certainly think he might realize that investigators are often able to link a person of interest to anonymous email threats.
Maybe blind rage can render a person temporarily stupid?
The following was posted this afternoon on the website of
The Dallas Morning News:
By
Tanya Eiserer
teiserer@dallasnews.com
3:09 pm on April 14, 2013 |
Permalink
The day after the bodies of Cynthia and Mike McLelland were found, an anonymous writer sent an email to county officials threatening that another attack would happen if the writer’s demands were not met.
Law enforcement authorities have since linked the the threat back to Eric Williams, a former justice of the peace who is now the prime suspect in the slayings.
The McLellands were found dead in their home over Easter weekend. Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down Jan. 31 as he walked to the county courthouse.
A charge of a capital murder in connection the slayings is expected to be filed this week, possibly as early as Tuesday, law enforcement authorities said.
Williams, 46, was arrested early Saturday on a terroristic-threat charge after dozens of law-enforcement workers executed a search warrant at his Kaufman home on Friday.
Williams was convicted of stealing county equipment last year and sentenced to probation in a highly contentious case prosecuted by McLelland and Hasse. That case is on appeal. Williams faces another theft charge in a case related to money allegedly misused from a law library fund.
Authorities searched the Williams’ home and that of his in-laws, who live down the street from them, on Friday. Those searches led to the execution of a search warrant on Saturday at Gibson Self Storage on Seagoville Road near U.S. Highway 175.
Authorities seized more than 20 weapons from the unit, which was rented on behalf of Williams. Some of the weapons are similar to those used in the Hasse and McLelland slayings. Ballistics tests are now being conducted by the Texas Rangers crime lab on the weapons that are of the same caliber as those used in the killings.
Authorities found a Ford Crown Victoria inside the unit. A neighbor’s surveillance camera had captured footage of a similar car entering and leaving the McLelland neighborhood on the morning of the slayings.
Officials have conducted extensive forensic testing on the vehicle found in the unit to determine if it can be linked to the McLelland slayings. The results are not yet known.
His attorney, David Sergi, has said that Williams “vigorously asserts his innocence and denies any involvement” in the killings.
Williams’ bail on that pending theft case has been revoked. He is being held on bail totaling $3 million.
The investigation into the slayings is a joint effort by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department, The Texas Rangers, the FBI and the Dallas-based special prosecutors assigned to the case.
URL @
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013...williams.html/
