Appeals court upholds Anderson man's conviction, lengthy sentence in shooting death
May 7—INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld an Anderson man's murder conviction and 90-year sentence imposed on two counts of Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm and Class A misdemeanor false informing in a homicide committed in a jealous rage.
According to the 19-page memorandum decision authored by Judge Edward W. Najam Jr., the court upheld the conviction and sentence handed down in the court of Madison County Circuit Court 4 Judge David Happe in spite of six issues raised in the appeal by the defendant, William Owens, 36, also known in the trial as Willie Alex "Terrell" Owens Jr.
"We cannot say that Owens' sentence is inappropriate," said the opinion filed April 19.
According to the opinion, Owens attended an early morning party Dec. 30, 2018, at the home of Filimon Adhanom with his girlfriend, Britanny Bucci.
While there, they ran into Tommie Griffin, a former sexual partner of Bucci. As he left the party, Griffin shook Bucci's hand goodbye, a gesture that upset Owens because he felt it was disrespectful to him.
With friend Keonte Matthews in tow, Owens attended another party the next day at Adhanom's residence, which also was attended by Griffin and his girlfriend, Ashley McClelland, who happened to be a former partner of Owens. At one point during the party, Owens grabbed McClelland's arm and left the room upset when she objected.
Griffin, Owens and Matthews left the party together in Griffin's vehicle. At some point, Matthews, who was in the back seat, asked to be let out.
As he walked away, Matthews reported hearing gunshots. After running to his own car, Owens joined him, where he admitted to shooting Griffin in the head, according to the opinion.
Griffin's body was discovered the next morning in his vehicle by an uninvolved person.
Around Jan. 2, 2019, Owens fled to Chicago, where he traded vehicles with a family member before continuing to Wisconsin. Later that month, Owens was arrested outside an Anderson bowling alley in a car with his sister and her partner.
"Based on the abundant aggravation here and the lack of any substantial mitigation, the Court finds the worst of the worst is an apt description for this case," Happe said as he sentenced Owens on July 23, 2020. "There's a comparably small number of cases that the Court does impose the maximum sentences in, but I think this is an appropriate case."
Owens appealed the conviction and sentencing on six grounds, including a failure by Happe to limit instruction to the jury, errors in admission of evidence and that the sentence did not fit the crime, all of which were rejected by the appeals court.
"Further, with respect to his character, Owens has a long criminal history, as noted by the trial court, and at the sentencing hearing he frequently interrupted witnesses and the court," the opinion said.
Follow Rebecca R. Bibbs on Twitter at @RebeccaB_THB, or call 765-640-4883.
