NEWPORT NEWS (WAVY) — Dominique Butts and Martel Joffrion did not take the time to get their stories straight.
Now they’ve been charged with conspiracy in connection to the bank robbery on July 27 that ended with the fatal police shooting of Stephen Williams.
According to new court documents obtained by the 10 On Your Side Investigative Team, the pair gave differing explanations to police about how and why they ended up in the car with Williams when he was killed.
Joffrion, 45, was arrested on July 31. Several hours after the shooting incident, he told police that he’d been hanging out with Williams that morning. They had driven to Williams’ apartment so he could change shoes before heading to a restaurant located near the Navy Federal Credit Union on Jefferson Avenue.
He said they had met in prison and that Williams had been acting out-of-the-ordinary that day, including making suicidal statements. Joffrion told police he believed he was dropping off Williams so he could get some cash and then head to a legitimate job.
“Mr. Joffrion said Mr. Williams was only gone for ‘seconds’ and when he came back he told them to ‘go go go’ and that ‘I’ll [shoot] everyone,” a criminal complaint reads. “Mr. Joffrion said Mr. Williams had a gun in his hand and saw that he had money.”
Butts painted a different picture to investigators, telling them she and Joffrion, her boyfriend of two months, had left their apartment to go pick up food from Rally’s. Instead, they ended up picking up Williams in an area with vacant buildings. Joffrion and Williams were communicating through Facebook, she said.
“Ms. Butts said when they pulled into that parking lot, Mr. Williams got into the rear passenger seat, behind her, and was ‘sweaty as hell’ as if someone poured water on top of his head,” the document reads.
“She said when the police pulled up she knew it had to be because of him because he looked nervous and scared,” it continues.
Newport News Police were able to track the path the would-be getaway car, a 2013 Cadillac, took, using license plate readers stationed around the city as well as GPS trackers hidden in the stolen cash.
Approximately 20 minutes before Williams walked into the bank with a mask and a gun, the car was captured on surveillance video in an apartment complex.
Williams is seen exiting the rear passenger door of the vehicle, removing the license plates from the Cadillac and swapping temporary plates stolen from a nearby car onto it.
Approximately 30 minutes later Williams would be mortally wounded by police bullets when he allegedly pointed his gun at them, after the car was pulled over. He would be declared dead just after 1 pm.
Two days after the shooting, police searched the Cadillac. Inside they found the car’s original, legitimate plates along with a magazine containing 11 9-mm bullets, just under $5,000 in cash, multiple GPS trackers, and three walkie talkies.
Investigators included the inconsistent statements made by Joffrion and Butts, as well as their “path of travel during that timeframe” in their request for arrest warrants.
Joffrion has been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to enter a bank armed, with intent to commit larceny, conspiracy (grand larceny, $5,000), possession of ammunition by a felon, accessory after the fact, false statement to law enforcement and not having a front license plate.
Butts has been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to enter a bank armed, with intent to commit larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny. She’s expected to be arraigned early next week.
