A Roanoke man has been sentenced to 150 months in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit robbery that resulted in the murder of a drug supplier. Garrett Isaac Williams, 22, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery.
Williams and his co-defendant, Joseph Walker, were involved in distributing marijuana and marijuana wax supplied by an individual identified as E.B., who traveled from Pennsylvania to deliver the drugs. According to court documents, the two men fell into debt with E.B. In an attempt to resolve the situation without paying their debt, they conspired to rob E.B. during a scheduled delivery.
On April 17, 2023, E.B. arrived at Walker’s residence in Roanoke with approximately 10 pounds of marijuana and two pounds of marijuana wax. Williams coordinated communication between E.B. and Walker ahead of the meeting. When E.B. arrived, Walker confronted him about a phone call made to Walker’s mother before shooting him twice and killing him. Walker then took the drugs and attempted to conceal the crime by moving E.B.’s body into the trunk of his car and setting it on fire in Bedford County.
While Williams was not present during the robbery or murder, he admitted his role in planning the robbery.
C. Todd Gilbert, United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia; Stephen Farina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division; and Colonel Matthew D. Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police announced the sentencing.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia State Police, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the Roanoke City Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Roanoke City Police Department, the Roanoke County Police Department, the City of Lynchburg Police Department, and the Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office are investigating the case.”
The Star City Drug and Violent Crime Task Force also contributed to investigating this case through collaboration among several local law enforcement agencies.
“Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Coleman Adams and Kelly McGann are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew O. Inman.”
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
