New Kensington murder suspect given deadline to decide on plea deal ahead of August retrial

A New Kensington man has just hours to decide whether to accept a plea deal involving the 2020 murder during a botched robbery and the unrelated shooting of four others a year earlier.

The combined plea offer comes just weeks before the scheduled retrial of Latresse T. Williams, 34. Prosecutors have declined to make public the full terms of the proposed plea offer, but said it will be withdrawn following Williams’ next court appearance on Thursday.

Following a four-day trial last summer, Williams was found not guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 15, 2020, fatal shooting of Anthone Williams of Arnold. No relation to the accused shooter, Anthone Williams was shot three times as he sat in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle in front of an abandoned housing project in New Kensington.

A Westmoreland County jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining counts, including second-degree murder, criminal homicide and robbery offenses.

Prosecutors said they will seek a conviction at the retrial on the charge of second-degree murder, which is a killing that occurs during the commission of another felony.

A conviction on that offense carries a mandatory life prison sentence without the possibility of parole.

Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro, during a court hearing on Tuesday, said prosecutors will allow Williams to plead guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree murder.

That crime carries a maximum penalty of up to 40 years in prison.

Ciaramitaro said the proposed plea deal is contingent on Williams also pleading guilty in two other pending cases. Those include a 2019 shooting incident in New Kensington in which Williams is accused of using the same weapon fired in the murder of Anthone Williams. Prosecutors contend Latresse Williams shot at three women and a man outside of a parked van in New Kensington.

He also faces weapons charges in a third case.

Defense attorney Jackie Shaw said she continues to discuss the proposed deal with Williams.

“He is apprehensive about entering a plea, but I know he is still considering it,” Shaw said.

Testimony during last year’s trial revealed the defendant’s DNA was found on a suspected murder weapon that was recovered by police in woods near where the body was found. A cellphone, which also contained Williams’ DNA, was recovered in the vehicle with Anthone Williams’ body.

Additional evidence included testimony of a confession Latresse Williams gave to his former girlfriend, prosecutors said.

He denied involvement in the murder and testified he sold the suspected murder weapon and his cellphone to another man weeks before the killing.

The retrial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Aug. 1.