Charles City jury convicts Newport News man of attempted murder, robbing Dollar General

A Newport News has been found guilty of several charges, including attempted murder, following a two-day jury trial in Charles City stemming from a 2022 robbery.
Yahsim Tremaine Williams, 23, was found guilty on six charges as part of the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 trial in front of a jury.

On Aug. 1, 2022, an unknown black male entered the Dollar General at 10341 Courthouse Road around that evening. During that time, store manager Emerald Johnson was training Nelson Peck, a new employee. The unknown man approached Peck, putting a gun to his head, and threatened to shoot him if he did not open the register. The suspect ordered Peck to set the timer to get the money, something that was similar to robberies of Dollar General stores in New Kent and James City County that occurred the previous two weeks.

The suspect banged on the manager’s door, telling Johnson to come out. Instead, the store manager secretly called the police. That’s when the manager spoke about what she heard.

“When the officer arrived and announced herself, that is when the gunshots went off,” Johnson said.

Former Charles City Deputy Alisha Buchanan was the first to arrive on scene. As she entered through the front door to announce herself, body camera footage showed what would take place.

Buchanan approached the door with her hand on her waist, without her gun not yet drawn. As she approached, shots started immediately coming through the sliding doors. As the officer retreated, the suspect followed and continued to shoot, striking Buchanan in the back. Buchanan was protected by her bulletproof vest. She was able to return fire.

As the suspect fled the scene, Buchanan was taken to VCU medical center and suffered from major bruising and back spasms, something she testified of not having prior to the incident.

For weeks, the suspect remained unidentified as the investigation into the robbery continued. The first break of the investigation came on Oct. 24, 2022, when Williams was pulled over in Newport News for what seemed to be a simple traffic infraction. After the brief stop, the black four-door Sedan accelerated from the scene, leading to a short chase before it crashed into the dumpster.

While the driver escaped on foot, multiple IDs along with a cell phone led to Williams being identified as the driver. During the investigation of that incident, Newport News Detective Carl Neidengard used technology on the recovered cell phone to assist with identifying the owner. The detective’s work discovered a search history of text messages, email, and other records on the phone. One of the searches done on the phone was, “How long does it take to solve a robbery?”

Several news articles about the Charles City robbery of the Aug. 1, 2022, as discovered on the phone, which was positively identified belonging to Williams. More information revealed that a search of an Aug. 1, 2022, robbery in Smithfield was also in the history of the phone.

Through the information discovered on the phone, Virginia State Police Officer Kecia Purdue executed a search warrant on Williams’ residence in Hampton on Oct. 31. Purdue, who discovered the shell casings at the Charles City Dollar General robbery, located a black glove with red lettering and gray top at Williams’ residence. That item, along with a maroon-colored hoodie, were similar to the items worn at the robbery.

Richmond’s branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became involved in the case. Using a Powerpoint presentation, FBI Agent Jeremy D’Errico told jurors that Williams’ phone connectivity pinged at a cell tower 1.6 miles away from the scene of the crime, allegedly putting the defendant in the area. The agent spoke about the specifics of how that phone had its own unique code that allowed for specific tracking and distance from the tower.

In addition to the aforementioned testimony, Neidengard presented photos discovered on Williams’ phone of two .45 caliber pistols. However, the gun used in the crime was never recovered.

But what was retried were the two gloves that forensic science expert Memory Dalton tested for DNA. While the right glove seemed to have too big of a sample, the left glove had a mixture of DNA, but there was more of a pattern to Williams’ DNA that could not be eliminated.

Defense attorney J. Todd DuVal argued that the identity of his client had not been found beyond a reasonable doubt. But Charles City Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tyler Klink countered, speaking about texts that were discovered on Williams’ cell phone mentioning the robbery.

“(Explicit) was going down, shells was flying,” the message said.

DuVal argued that the shooting was not premeditated and that if Williams did commit the crime, it was a robbery gone bad. But Klink retorted, hoping his final words weighed heavily on the jury.

“The phone put him in Charles City the day of the robbery,” Klink said. “He should be found guilty on all charges.”

It took a jury just over an hour to deliberate. When they emerged, they found Williams guilty of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. In addition, he was also convicted on two counts of the use of a firearm in commission of a felony (second offense), use of a firearm in commission of a felony (first offense), malicious assault, and robbery that resulted in serious bodily injury.

Additional charges that included four counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony (second offense), two counts of abduction, and one count of shooting in an occupied building were Nolle Prosequi.

Sentencing for Williams is scheduled for Mar. 5, 2024.