BEAUMONT — A prosecutor with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office has announced they’re not seeking the death penalty in the case of a suspect charged with Capital Murder by Retaliation in the motorcycle drive-by killing of a man mowing his lawn in north Beaumont.
Word came during a hearing this morning in the case of 56-year-old Larry Fitzgerald Williams Sr. before 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West.
Prosecutor Phillip Smith said the State isn’t seeking the death penalty. If convicted, Williams could face up to life in prison.
Defense attorney Herschel Cashin said he’s filing a motion for a Change of Venue, seeking to move the case out of Jefferson County.
Judge West said she’ll hold a hearing on that motion in the next two to three weeks. She wants to try the case before the end of the year.
Williams is also charged with Aggravated Assault Causes Serious Bodily Injury. Magistrate Marc DeRouen set his bail is $100,000 on that 2nd degree felony charge and $10 million on the Capital Murder charge.
Prosecutors say the the victim is the same in each case. They allege Williams killed 51-year-old Brian Lewis because Lewis wouldn’t drop the assault case against him.
Williams is accused of shooting and killing Lewis while the victim was mowing his lawn Saturday afternoon, June 21, 2025. He was taken into custody at about 6:45 that Monday morning in Houston.
According to the probable cause affidavit obtained by KFDM/Fox 4 for his arrest, police say Williams targeted Lewis because of the previous aggravated assault case that was scheduled for trial last July, in which he’s accused of viciously beating Lewis. The beating put Lewis in ICU for months.
Williams was taken into custody in Houston by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Warrant Division, working in conjunction with the Houston Police Department, on a murder warrant for the shooting death of Lewis. A Beaumont Police Department officer working with the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force also took part in the capture.
Justice of the Peace Ben Collins Sr. issued a murder warrant for the arrest of Williams, and the judge released the probable cause affidavit for the arrest to KFDM.
According to the affidavit, which included a sworn statement from a BPD officer, a suspect rode up on a motorcycle and shot and killed Lewis while Lewis was on a riding lawnmower and cutting the grass of a home on Delaware. The suspect had a revolver, according to an image from the Real-Time Crime Center. He sped away.
Police say during the course of the investigation, detectives learned Lewis was the victim of an Aggravated Assault in 2024 and the suspect was Williams. The case was set for trial in July 2025.
“Further investigation revealed that Williams had made multiple statements that Lewis needed to drop charges or Williams would kill Lewis,” according to the affidavit. “During follow-up investigation, detectives received multiple tips that have been confirmed that Williams owned the distinct Hyabusa motorcycle matching the motorcycle pictured in media releases. Other tips identified the suspect to match the height and weight description of Williams. A witness also observed Williams to be in possession of a revolver a few nights prior to the shooting and was on the motorcycle.”
Beaumont police released a photo of the suspect they say is Williams on a motorcycle just after the Saturday murder, speeding away from the scene at about 1:45 p.m. and heading west on Delaware Street.
Williams was the focus of a KFDM ‘On the Run’ segment last September with our anchor, Angel San Juan and Sheriff Zena Stephens. Investigators were looking for him in connection with the June 2024 violent crime he’s accused of committing against Lewis. Williams eventually surrendered. Family members of Lewis say Williams beat him with brass knuckles at a motorcycle club. They say Lewis fell to the floor and was hurt so badly that he spent months in the intensive care unit at a Houston hospital, recovering from injuries to his skull, head, and neck. He was arrested on September 11, nine days after our report. Magistrate Marc DeRouen set bond at $25,000 and conditions including that Williams must wear a GPS monitor. Investigators say he cut off the monitor.
Family members of Lewis tell KFDM he got married in March. Brian and his wife were living in north Beaumont. They say he was mowing the lawn of the rent house in the 1900 block Delaware Street at about 1:45 Saturday afternoon when the man police say is Williams drove by on a motorcycle and opened fire. Lewis died at the scene. Police converged on the area, putting up crime scene tape and gathering evidence while concerned neighbors stood outside.
Beverly Adams, Lewis’s mother, spoke Monday with KFDM reporter Iman Abraham. She described her son as a pillar in her life.
“I love him. I love all my kids. He was my first born. And he was my rock,” she said. Adams recounted how Lewis was always there for her and others, leaving a void that cannot be filled. “My son’s gone, I’d never be able to see him again. I’d never be able to call and tell him ‘Brian King Lewis, mama had a flat. Brian King Lewis, your daughter needs you,”‘ she said.
Lewis, who had a 16-year-old daughter, enjoyed working with children at his wife’s daycare.
“He would pick them up after school and stuff. And they always say, Mr. Brian, and some of them had names for him and stuff. They call him paw paw. They would call it that. All of them had different names for him. And they just loved them to death,” Adams said.
Our stories on Facebook drew hundreds of comments. Among them: ‘Brian was a humble and loving man’ and ‘Brian was a beautiful soul.’ Others posted that ‘his family loved him deeply’ and ‘my heart hurts for his family.’
