Cops: Fairburn carjacker had prior arrests

A Palmetto man will not have his first appearance before a judge until Monday to answer charges he murdered an Ohio man who was in Fairburn for his father’s funeral, officials confirmed Saturday.

Kealy Williams was expected to be in court at the Fulton County Jail Saturday but he was not moved from Union City in time.

An accused felon should go before a judge within 72 hours of arrest to hear the charges, to have an attorney appointed and to ask for bond, but the final court session at the jail for the week is at 11 a.m. on Saturdays, according to spokeswoman Sgt. Nikita Adams-Hightower.

“He did not make the deadline for first appearance today,” Adams-Hightower said Saturday. The court session at the jail is Monday morning.

Lt. Stacy Armstead confirmed Williams, 26, was still in South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail in Union City Saturday morning, but he could not say when Williams would be moved to the Fulton County lockup because of security concerns.

Williams has been there since he turned himself in to Fairburn police on Friday, the day after he allegedly shot Terrence Harris of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

“He got a guilty conscience and basically turned himself in,” Fairburn police Sgt. Charles Israel said.

Williams told detectives he was trying to get the 41-year-old Harris out of the car and only “pulled the trigger … to scare him” with a warning shot, the Associated Press reported. Williams told investigators he didn’t know he hit Harris until he saw news accounts of it.

By that time, police had already found the car in Coweta County near the Golden Shine Car Wash on Georgia Highway 74, where Harris was shot as he cleaned his father’s beloved Cadillac so it could be used in the funeral procession. Friday night, after Williams was in jail, police found a gun they believed was the murder weapon during a search of Williams’ home.

According to Eric Wiley, Harris’ cousin, Williams appeared at the car wash and demanded that they give him the Cadillac. Wiley said Williams then opened the passenger door and shot Harris once.

“At the moment it appears to be a random, senseless act of violence,” Israel said.

So far, Williams is accused of murder but there could be more charges, Israel told several news organizations.

This is not Williams first time arrested. The Fulton County Jail records show Palmetto police arrested Williams on March 2, 2000, for battery and domestic violence and he was released the next day on a property bond. Palmetto police arrested him on those same charges three years later, on May 12, 2003, and that time he was freed two days later after posting a $1,000 bond, according to Fulton Jail records.

The records did not indicate how those cases were eventually resolved.

— The Associated Press and staff writers Marcus Garner and Kathy Jefcoats contributed to this story.