Trial underway: Second brother stands trial in 17-year-old Manatee County cold case

For the second time in a little more than two months, Jamaine Brown took the stand across from one of his brothers sitting at the defendant's table and recalled what happened in the late-night hours of Feb. 11, 2006.

His brother, 38-year-old Ralph Williams, occasionally spoke to his attorney and took notes as his older brother described for the jury how 16-year-old Amber Woods was shot in the back while standing on the side of rural State Route 62 with nothing surrounding them but pastures.

Brown recalled seeing the red brake lights illuminating the area as Woods fell forward following the shot.

"She didn't even see it coming," Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell said during her opening statement Tuesday.

Ralph Williams, the older brother of Tyjuan Williams who was convicted of second-degree murder in June, is on trial for first-degree murder in connection to Woods' death after the teen's body was found near a rural state road in Manatee County. He is being tried as a principal, meaning he isn’t accused of pulling the trigger that killed Woods, but he had helped plan and lure Woods out to the rural road.

Previous reporting: Hardee County man sentenced to life in prison in connection to 16-year-old's death in 2006

Read previous trial coverage: Man testifies against brother in 17-year-old Manatee County cold case

A passerby found Woods’ body partially clothed lying near a fence line on the side of the road in Manatee County about three miles west of the Hardee County line. There was a single gunshot wound to her back.

The teenager was last seen alive by her aunt at their home in Hardee County around 12:30 a.m., according to previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting.

Woods' case had gone cold for nearly 14 years until Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells announced in December 2020 that his detectives made the three arrests.

Brown pleaded no contest to charges of kidnapping and accessory after the fact to murder. His sentence came with the condition he would testify in any prosecution hearing connected to Woods' death, according to court records. He testified Wednesday that it was difficult for him to testify against his brother, and he did not want to be in court.

Ralph Williams, who had been romantically linked to the teenager at the time of her death, allegedly wanted to end the relationship and conspired with his brothers to kidnap her, take her to a remote area, and kill her after he found out she was possibly pregnant with his child, according to previous reporting and court testimony in Tyjuan Williams' case.

Arrests made in cold case: Phone records lead to break in 14-year-old Manatee County cold case

‘It wasn’t my fault’

Brown, 40, wore a powder-blue button-up shirt, his shoulders hunched as he sat angled towards the jury. He leaned into the microphone, his soft-spoken words sometimes hard to hear.

His younger brother sat adjacent to him across the courtroom. The two barely made eye contact, despite Ralph Williams watching his brother as he described to the jury what he said happened that night.

Two days before the shooting, Brown came down to Wauchula from Winter Haven. That Friday leading up to Woods’ killing, the three brothers had gone to church with their family, Brown said.

Sometime after leaving the church, Brown returned to their grandmother's house and was asleep on the living room floor when he was awoken by Ralph and Tyjuan Williams returning home, Brown said. That's also when he noticed a rifle-type gun wrapped in a blanket lying on the couch — his brothers said they were planning on going hog hunting.

All three brothers ended up inside Ralph Williams's Chevy Cobalt, smoking marijuana and driving around Wauchula before heading north on U.S. 17, Brown said. He added that he insisted Ralph Williams take him back to Winter Haven to check on his girlfriend.

Brown said Tyjuan Williams suddenly spoke up: “If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it now.”

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Ralph Williams made a sharp left turn cutting across several lanes onto State Route 62. Brown and Tyjuan Williams were separated from their brother as they went to explore an abandoned house, and when Ralph Williams returned, Woods was sitting in the passenger seat, Brown said, adding at the time he didn’t know who she was.

At some point that night, the car stopped along the side of the road and everyone exited the vehicle to switch seats with Brown sliding into the driver's seat, his foot pressing the brake illuminating the surrounding area.

“Everything was red," Brown said, remembering the moment the shot sounded and he saw Woods falling.

Brown said Tyjuan Williams was holding the rifle when he exited the vehicle, and he heard Ralph Williams say that he could have been hit. “I don’t miss,” said Tyjuan Williams according to Brown.

Brown admitted he was the one to take the car to a self-serve car wash and that he threw away a plastic bag filled with Woods' belongings and went with his brothers to their uncle's house in the countryside to give him the gun.

Brown placed a hand over his eyes and wiped away tears as he recalled the moment he had learned his brothers were blaming him for the killing, with Ralph Williams telling law enforcement Brown had their sister's phone that night, which played a key part in the investigation.

Brown admitted to the jury that he had kept quiet and denied knowing what happened to Woods several times when law enforcement approached him. He finally accepted a plea offer and gave a proffer which led detectives to arrest his younger brothers in late 2020.

"It wasn't my fault," Brown said, his voice thick with emotions.

Det. Garrick Plonczynski testified that every time he spoke with Brown he found it interesting that Brown always said, “It wasn’t my fault,” instead of “It wasn’t me and my brothers.”

Ralph Williams' defense attorney Jervis Wise questioned Brown about the fact that law enforcement had previously told him Tyjuan Williams had made a statement against him and even played a recording of his statement. Brown said he had thought it was a trick and continued to deny everything until he saw his discovery.

Wise also pointed out with his questioning that Brown received a pretty good deal because he agreed to step forward and that he had in fact previously been facing life in prison, possibly even the death penalty, as federal law enforcement began to investigate the case.

Audio, videos of interrogations reveal conflicting statements

Following Woods’ death, law enforcement spoke with Ralph Williams, along with the other two brothers, multiple times, and each time, it appeared the then 20-year-old gave conflicting statements.

In the first interview, Ralph Williams told detectives the two weren’t together and that Woods had made it up. During the second interview with detectives, Williams admitted he had lied the first time.

In the third interview, the detective pointed out that Ralph Williams and Woods had texted extensively when in prior conversations Ralph Williams had downplayed their communications.

This also conflicted with prior statements he'd made that after he and his brothers returned to their grandmother's home, they hadn't left the rest of the night but played on their PlayStation.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Hardee County man stands trial for Manatee County cold case