Man who shot Tarrant County deputy will testify as jury decides his sentence
Leland Williams will perhaps one day see the light of day outside prison and begin to atone, one of his defense attorneys suggested on Tuesday to a jury as his punishment trial began.
Williams, who shot a Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office deputy at a credit union in Fort Worth, is not a lost cause and does not deserve to have his life thrown away, the attorney, Kelly Meador, told the jury.
The panel in the 371st District Court will hear from Williams and learn about what he was going through on the day in November 2023 that he shot Deputy Brent Brown, Meador said in the defense’s opening statement.
The state will attempt to persuade the jury that Brown’s shooting was without provocation and that the defendant lacked remorse.
Williams’ crime merits a life sentence, Assistant District Attorney Victoria Lydahl told the jury in the prosecution’s opening statement.
Williams on Tuesday pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of a peace officer, and the jury began to hear evidence in his punishment trial.
Williams shot Brown at Fort Worth Community Credit Union on Brentwood Stair Road.
Brown was working off-duty at the credit union, and he returned fire after he was shot. The jury heard audio recordings of 911 calls reporting the shooting and saw a photo of the deputy’s body armor, in which an embedded projectile was found.
Fort Worth police released a collection of security, drone and body-camera footage that showed the shooting, the first officers responding and Williams being arrested in a nearby neighborhood, walking out of a house and backing up toward police with his hands in the air and a cigarette in his mouth.
Video also showed the man police identified as Williams walk into the bank, sit down briefly and then stand up, pull a gun and rush Brown.
Brown, who was sitting behind the counter at the credit union, tried to pull his own handgun but was shot before he had the chance, the video shows. Brown fell, then stood and opened fire at the attacker as he fled the building. Video included a camera that showed Williams’ face as he approached with the gun raised and the recoil as the handgun was fired.
Police said Williams fired four rounds, two of which struck Brown. One hit him in the gut, just below his ballistics vest, and the other hit him in the chest, just above the vest.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 2:33 PM.
