The court-ordered retrial of Eddie Lee Williams for the March 2014 drug-related murder of Marcus Ortiz and the severe wounding of Keith Crawford in a South Lebanon Township apartment began Tuesday morning in the courtroom of Lebanon County President Judge John Tylwalk.
Williams is charged with homicide for Ortiz’s death, aggravated assault for Crawford’s serious injury, and criminal conspiracy. He was convicted of those charges in 2015, but awarded a new trial after federal appeals courts ruled that the jury was allowed to hear improper evidence.
Read More: New trial ordered for man convicted in 2015 for fatal drug-related shooting
Cannon, who went to the apartment with Williams, pleaded guilty as an accomplice to murder and aggravated assault in 2015.
After Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf and defense lawyer Adam Leydig gave opening statements to a jury chosen on Monday, the morning session kicked off with the testimony of retired South Lebanon officer James Gross, who was first at the scene and involved in 100 mph vehicular chase that ended with Williams’ escape. Williams was caught months later in Philadelphia.
The highlight of Tuesday afternoon’s session was the testimony of surviving victim Crawford, who was shot through the head and remarkably survived with physical and verbal impairments.
Graf said in her opening that Williams and accomplice Rick Cannon entered Crawford’s apartment at 714 Fox Chase Lane on Friday morning, March 14, 2014, and found Crawford and Ortiz inside, where both were shot – Ortiz fatally, and Crawford straight through his skull. Williams and Cannon, Graf said, were driven from the scene by a second accomplice, Akeita Harden.
Graf did not specifically say who shot whom, telling the jury that “they” put a gun to Crawford’s head, and “they” pulled the trigger, possibly indicating uncertainty about whether Williams or Cannon, or both, fired at the victims. Instead, Graf emphasized to the jury that Williams could be guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and the related charges as a co-conspirator and accomplice, even if he wasn’t the shooter.
But Graf suggested strongly that Williams was in fact the shooter, since personal items, including a watch and ring, stolen from Crawford at the apartment, some blood-covered, were discarded by Williams, not Cannon, when the two fled on foot after after a high speed vehicular chase.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Leydig suggested that the evidence, including the testimony of Crawford at his first trial in 2015, would be inconsistent and at odds with the police version of events and Crawford’s statements on other occasions. Leydig emphasized that Williams and Crawford were “best friends” and “partners,” and that Williams had no motive to harm either Crawford or Ortiz.
Gross, the trial’s first witness, said he happened to be present at the apartment complex when he received a report of gunshots. He spotted two Black males coming from apartment 714. He drew his gun and ordered them to stop, but they got into a waiting Cadillac SUV, driven by a female, later identified as Harden.
The vehicle fled and led police on a high speed chase south down Route 897, past the in-session Iona Elementary School to Schaefferstown, then doubling back and heading north into Lebanon city, through dense, heavily traveled urban neighborhoods. Along the way the SUV had a number of collisions, and a shotgun was seen thrown from its interior.
Gross used dashcam video and police radio recordings as he took the jury through the chase from the start to its end at 7th and Guilford streets, with Cannon and Williams jumping from the vehicle as it drove away. Video showed Williams appearing to drop items as he jumped from the SUV and ran off. Hess suggested in her opening statement that those discarded items were the same ones Williams had stolen from Crawford at the shooting scene.
On Tuesday afternoon, Crawford, walking slowly with the help of a cane, took the stand. Earlier, a neurosurgeon who treated Crawford testified that he had permanent physical and verbal injuries and was lucky to have survived his head wound.
Crawford was hard to understand at times. He answered yes or no questions verbally, but typed answers to other questions on a laptop that was projected onto screens before the jurors.
Crawford identified Williams as his shooter, loudly exclaiming “JC!” – Williams’ nickname – when asked several times who shot him. He also confirmed that he picked “JC” out of a photo lineup conducted after the shooting.
Crawford said he and Williams had been drug-dealing partners, but had parted ways two weeks before the shootings, and that he had ended the relationship with Williams, suggesting that ending their collaboration was the motive for Williams’ visit to the apartment that day.
On cross examination, defense attorney Jonathan Crisp confronted Crawford with his statements at earlier court proceedings that seemed to contradict some of his later statements, and got Crawford to admit that he had told police that Cannon, not Williams shot Ortiz.
At one point, Crawford became agitated and started trembling and yelling, prompting Tylwalk to order a 20-minute recess.
Testimony of other prosecution witnesses was set to resume on Wednesday morning. Graf told LebTown that she expects to conclude her case sometime on Thursday.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Be part of Lebanon County’s story.
Cancel anytime.
Monthly Subscription
🌟 Annual Subscription
- Still no paywall!
- Fewer ads
- Exclusive events and emails
- All monthly benefits
- Most popular option
- Make a bigger impact
Already a member? Log in here to hide these messages
While other local news outlets are shrinking, LebTown is growing. Help us continue expanding our coverage of Lebanon County with a monthly or annual membership, or support our work with a one-time contribution. Every dollar goes directly toward local reporting. Cancel anytime.
