Preston T. Williams, 27, faced his first day of a Daviess Circuit Court jury trial on Tuesday in relation to the Dec. 4, 2016, shooting and murder of Jerard Fountain. Williams was charged with murder after investigators uncovered video footage that shows Fountain approaching a Lexus vehicle believed to have been occupied by Williams at the time. Fountain was shot thereafter, as was Williams, and witness testimony is alleged to corroborate what video surveillance shows.
However, Williams has maintained his innocence since the Dec. 4 incident, entering Tuesday’s trial with a not guilty plea. Williams’ co-suspect in the trial, Donte M. Washington, 26, faced trial as a facilitator in the alleged murder, but a jury found Washington to be not guilty on March 30.
Lead prosecutor and Daviess Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Kuegel will question around 30 witnesses during this trial, many of whom underwent interrogation on Tuesday. Kuegel’s witnesses range from Owensboro Police Department officers and detectives, to medical examiners, to people believed to have witnessed the incident.
The shooting occurred at 7th and Sycamore Streets and OPD responded at 8:43 p.m. Video footage was collected by OPD from St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter and the PG Walker Complex, both located in close proximity to the shooting.
Defense Attorney Pat Flaherty will defend Williams as the three-day trial extends into at least Thursday. Flaherty told a 12-person jury in his opening argument that, in cases like the one they were about to be involved with, the Constitutional rights bestowed upon Williams were what they needed to keep in mind going forward.
“This is the most important thing that goes on in the justice system — a criminal jury trial,” Flaherty said. “It does not work without you.”
Kuegel said the Commonwealth carried the burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“And that is the burden you carry,” Kuegel said. “Did the Commonwealth prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt?”
Kuegel told jurors they could use the evidence, their own determination and the witnesses’ testimony to “connect the dots” to arrive at their decision.
“Some of you, because of your moral fiber, who you are, may feel like — it may be difficult to send someone to prison,” Kuegel said. “There are three penalties for this case — 20 years, 50 years, to life.”
Flaherty told jurors to focus on Williams’ constitutional rights as they embarked on the journey that would conclusively reside as some of the most important days of Williams’ life.
“The Constitution is there to protect the people. These are the rights of all of us and, especially, for Preston,” Flaherty said. “If they don’t meet that burden of proof, you have to return a verdict of not guilty. As Preston sits here today, he’s innocent. Because a person’s been indicted — that’s not proof of any wrongdoing. This is an extremely serious case — for Preston, this is the most important few days of his life.”
