LJWorld.com

A 20-year-old Topeka man was convicted Friday evening of second-degree murder and aggravated battery for a February 2006 downtown Lawrence shooting that killed 46-year-old Robert Earl Williams and injured another man.

"I'm just grateful. I really am. Justice has been served," said LaTonia Coleman, Williams' widow. "The prosecutors did a wonderful job of supporting the family through the whole thing."

Rashawn T. Anderson showed little emotion - as he had throughout the trial - when Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin read the jury's decision that found him guilty of the crimes.

Pierre Burnette, 24, Kansas City, Kan., also was injured in the Feb. 5, 2006, shooting outside the Granada, 1020 Mass., minutes after a hip-hop concert ended.

"There's nothing that can bring my husband back or make up for what happened," Coleman said. "The verdict is what I was hoping for."

After deliberating for more than three hours, jurors opted to convict Anderson of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, although they had the option of first-degree murder, which would have meant they believed the act was premeditated.

Assistant Douglas County District Attorney Amy McGowan said the verdict still pleased prosecutors because the jury convicted Anderson for intentionally killing Williams.

She said the combination of eyewitness testimony and DNA evidence that tied Anderson to the murder weapon proved to be "invaluable."

The case

McGowan also credited Lawrence police officers for the investigation that began slowly because so few witnesses were willing to come forward early on. The murder weapon was found 17 days after the shooting in a field west of Lawrence, and Anderson was arrested soon after that.

"The police department started with nothing and worked so hard on this case," McGowan said.

Investigators and prosecutors also were given a rare and key piece of evidence in a home video that showed several minutes of activity outside the Granada minutes before the shooting. A contractor for Upset Records shot the footage.

Detectives were able to show witnesses the video, and three people who witnessed the shooting identified Anderson as wearing a brown or tan Carhartt-style jacket that matched the shooter's. Witnesses said he put his hood up before he started shooting. One eyewitness also said he saw Anderson's face while he was shooting at Williams.

According to testimony, Williams was involved in several arguments throughout the night, including with friends of Anderson. On the video at one point, Anderson can be seen looking at Williams' hand, where he held a pocket knife. But prosecutors said all arguments eventually calmed down and that Williams even left the scene and returned to find out more about an after-concert party.

During her closing argument, McGowan said Anderson shot Williams to prove to his friends that he was "a big man."

"But he's not a big man. He's a little man, who used a cowardly ambush to kill a father, brother, uncle and husband, who didn't know it was coming," McGowan said.

Williams was shot five times from behind, and Burnette was struck in the back by an apparent stray bullet.

Two jurors said the forensic and eyewitness testimony seemed to effectively corroborate what transpired that night. Still photos made from the video helped identify key moments that led up to the shooting, they said.

The testimony of DeShayla Johnson, Anderson's ex-girlfriend, that he confessed the shooting to her and threatened her if she talked about it also was an important piece of evidence, a juror said.

"The fact that her family had been threatened, yet she was willing to come here and testify was a very powerful statement," the juror said.

'He was here with us'

Coleman and Williams had lived briefly in Denver before the shooting. He was staying in Topeka with plans to move to Lawrence. They have an 8-year-old son, Robert Jr.

Anderson's attorney Tom Bartee declined comment Friday. He and attorney Mark Manna had argued throughout the trial that witnesses too often changed their stories and that no one credibly identified Anderson as the shooter.

Anderson's family members also left the courtroom quietly and without comment. Coleman and other family members of Williams acknowledged the events have been difficult for both sides.

Martin will sentence Anderson at 2 p.m. May 25. Depending on his criminal history and if Martin consecutively or concurrently runs the convictions, Anderson faces at least 12 years and three months in prison.

Coleman said she will attend Anderson's eventual parole hearings to "hopefully keep him there for as long as they can" in her husband's name.

"He's giving me strength to go through this, and it's been hard. (I've had) sleepless nights. It's been really hard, but he was here with us," she said.

- 6News anchor/reporter Janet Reid contributed information to this report.