Fort Worth murder suspect was out on bond. Positive cocaine test has him back in jail
A 55-year-old Fort Worth man released from jail after being charged with an April 2021 murder was back in custody on Friday after he tested positive for cocaine, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
Records showed that another test indicated that he also had alcohol in his system.
Michael Jerod Williams, 55, was booked into the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth on Wednesday. He remained in the jail Friday in lieu of $101,000 bond.
Williams was charged with capital murder in April 2021 in the shooting death of a 62-year-old Haltom City man during an attempted robbery in east Fort Worth. He was later released on $100,000 bond.
The Fort Worth man also was charged with drug possession during the alleged shooting.
Court records indicated that 35-year-old Lucille Renee Wilson of Fort Worth also was charged with capital murder in June 2021 and accused of being involved in the shooting death.
Williams’ trial is pending, and prosecutors have waived the death penalty.
Williams is accused of fatally shooting 62-year-old Harold Yazzie in the leg on April 25, 2021, during an attempted robbery, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Yazzie, of Haltom City, died after he was shot in the 6500 block of Normandy Road. Fort Worth police found him lying in the parking lot of an apartment complex with a gunshot wound to his leg. He died after going to the hospital.
A few hours later, police issued a warrant for Williams’ arrest and he was booked into jail on a charge of capital murder.
Williams walked up to Yazzie and another person who were sitting inside Yazzie’s truck in the Spring Brooks Apartments parking lot, Fort Worth police said. He was wearing a mask and all black, according to the arrest warrant.
He unbuckled Yazzie’s seatbelt and took his cell phone. Yazzie got out of the truck and started to struggle with Williams, the person who was sitting inside Yazzie’s car told police.
The person started to run away from the car when they heard a gunshot. Williams shot Yazzie, according to the warrant, and ran away.
The person told police they recognized Williams.
Police reviewed surveillance footage and saw a Dodge Nitro follow Yazzie’s truck into the parking lot. The footage showed a person dressed in black get out of the Dodge Nitro and walk toward the apartment complex, which is outside the view of the surveillance camera. Another person waited inside the Dodge Nitro, the arrest warrant said.
Police went to Williams’ home and saw a Dodge Nitro parked in the driveway, the warrant said.
This story was originally published January 27, 2023 at 9:46 AM.
