Nicholas Williams, a security guard who was convicted of aggravated battery after firing a warning shot that struck a man in the leg, has avoided a mandatory 10-year prison sentence thanks to a rare legal maneuver described as a “Hail Mary.”
Williams, 39, had been working at a Family Dollar store in Gentilly, Louisiana, in 2023 when he fired the shot during a confrontation with a trespasser who had previously been banned from the store. The bullet struck 32-year-old Landon Guidry, a homeless man known for multiple prior arrests and frequent disruptive behavior at the store.
The incident began on April 10, 2023, when Guidry allegedly returned to the store, began throwing bricks, and threatened customers. Williams, trying to protect the premises, fired what he said was a warning shot. But that shot hit Guidry in the leg.
Conviction and Mandatory Sentence
Despite Williams’ claim of self-defense, police arrested him and charged him with aggravated battery. During trial preparations, the district attorney’s office added a firearm enhancement charge, which, under Louisiana law, carries a mandatory 10-year prison sentence on top of any sentence for the original charge.
Williams was convicted at trial, a surprising outcome for his family and legal team, who believed the incident would clearly qualify as self-defense. The victim never appeared in court, and prosecutors presented no physical evidence of the injury aside from the police report.
Still, the jury returned a guilty verdict.
“We were just amazed at how the system could have failed him,” his family said.
Williams was taken into custody immediately after the verdict. His family, especially his mother, Tanya Williams Brumfield, was devastated.
“This is a decent young man with a good family from a good background,” she said. “It seems very unfair.”
A New Lawyer and a Last-Ditch Effort
For the sentencing phase, a new attorney, Jerome Matthews, was appointed to represent Williams. Matthews quickly identified grounds for appeal and filed multiple motions.
One key argument was that there was little evidence presented to prove an actual injury had occurred. Still, because the jury had already delivered its verdict and Louisiana’s laws require mandatory sentencing with firearm enhancements, the conviction stood.
In an unusual development, the district attorney’s office joined Matthews in asking the court to throw out the firearm enhancement, acknowledging that a 10-year minimum sentence was excessive under the circumstances. But despite this joint effort, the court could not undo the verdict.
As a last resort, Matthews submitted what he called a “Hail Mary” motion—a plea for mercy under an obscure provision sometimes referred to as a “Dorothy motion” or a motion based on “ends of justice.”
This type of motion asks the judge to issue a sentence below the legal minimum based on extraordinary circumstances and a strong showing of good character.
A Rare Judicial Decision
In a ruling described by legal experts as highly unusual, Judge Simone Levine granted the motion and sentenced Williams to probation, giving him credit for the eight months he had already served in jail.
“All I could do was cry,” Williams said after learning he wouldn’t serve the expected decade-long sentence.
In her decision, Judge Levine noted that a 10-year sentence would have been “excessive.” She described Williams as a “dutiful son, patient sibling, responsible father, competent and conscientious employee, and responsible citizen.”
Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino described the ruling as extraordinary, stating that such outcomes are rare and require a courageous judge willing to provide thorough justification.
Back at Work and Reunited with Family
Williams has since returned to work and been reunited with his daughter. But the legal challenges for his family are not over.
According to WWL’s Mike Perlstein, a follow-up report will explore how Williams’ mother, Tanya Brumfield, is now facing a felony charge herself,a charge she says resulted from her efforts to help her son.
That part of the story will unfold in a subsequent report.
