By Erica Thomas, managing editor, and Joshua Huff, sports editor
MOODY — The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office identified the two people on Friday, June 5, 2020, who were arrested and now charged with the shooting death of Moody Police Lt. Stephen Williams.
The sheriff’s office charged Tapero Corlene Johnson, 27, of Birmingham and Marquisha Anissa Tyson, 28, of Birmingham, with capital murder in the slaying of Williams.
Williams was killed on Tuesday evening following a shootout at the Super 8 in Moody. The events leading up to the shooting are vague, but Moody Police Chief Thomas Hunt said that Williams was shot on arrival.
St. Clair County Sheriff Billy Murray added that once the officers responded to the call, which came from the room where the incident happened, the situation escalated very quickly. Two suspects were taken into custody after law enforcement cleared the hotel room, ensuring no other suspects were inside. After the scene was secured, investigators said they found multiple firearms inside the hotel room.
Following the shooting, Williams was transported to UAB Hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead. A medical helicopter had arrived to the scene, but was not used.
“I am deeply saddened to hear Sergeant Stephen Williams was killed in the line of duty last night,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement on Wednesday. “He served the Moody Police Department with distinction and had a long, honorable career in law enforcement. In the end, he died a hero, fulfilling the oath he swore to do — to uphold the community he served.”
Williams was a 23-year veteran and had been with the Moody Police Department for three years. He had been promoted to sergeant in the past year and was honored with the Chiefs Award of Excellence during the 2019 Christmas Banquet.
“He was awesome,” Hunt said of the father of three. “He was a good man. A good person, funny to be around.”
The Moody Police Department posthumously promoted Williams to the rank of lieutenant.
Williams will be laid to rest on Monday, June 8, 2020, at the First Baptist Church in Moody, the Southern Heritage Funeral Home announced.
Visitation will be held on June 7, 2020, at 5 p.m. at the Southern Heritage Funeral Home, which is located at 475 Cahaba Valley Road, in Pelham. A funeral service will follow on June 8, 2020, at 11 a.m. at Moody First Baptist Church, located at 902 Church Street, in Moody.
“I couldn’t ask for a better supervisor or an officer than Stephen Williams,” Hunt said. “Our officers are hurting; our police department is hurting. We lost a brother. We lost a dear friend.”
BREAKING: St. Clair County Sheriff's Office holds press conference with latest on Moody Police officer shooting.
Posted by The Trussville Tribune on Friday, June 5, 2020