Prosecutors reached an 11th-hour deal Friday with one of two men accused in a 2012 Southside rape.
Deacon Williams, 18, pleaded no contest to a charge of rape and guilty to a plea of robbery. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole on the rape charge, and six years, to be served at the same time as the other sentence, for the robbery.
Deacon Williams appears in court this morning.Williams pleaded to lesser charges than those listed on his original indictment, which included aggravated rape, aggravated assault and aggravated robbery. If convicted, he could have faced up to 25 years in prison on the aggravated rape charge alone.
The plea agreement came just a day after prosecutors filed to sever Williams' case from that of his former co-defendant, Devontavious Bryant, 20.
Prosecutors described the attack this way: Two men, who police said were Williams and Bryant, approached the 30-year-old victim while she was running near Finley Stadium early in the morning on Oct. 12, 2012. They asked for her money and took her mp3 player, and when she turned to head back to the gym where she started her run, they choked her until she lost consciousness.
Devontavious BryantThey dragged her to an embankment near the stadium, took turns raping her, then left her there. The woman left and was picked up by a driver, who called police.
Assistant District Attorney General Cameron Williams said DNA evidence, including condom wrappers found at the scene, was sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation but returned no link to the pair. Two surveillance videos show what looks like Bryant and Williams on bicycles near the stadium around the time the rape occurred, Williams said.
Though Williams' case is now finished, Bryant's trial is set to begin Tuesday. His attorney, Joshua Weiss, said he didn't know until Friday that Williams would be signing a plea agreement.
District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said that agreement did not require Williams to testify against Bryant. Weiss said he understood that Williams would not be called to testify at all.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.