Left: Nathaniel Hall, Right: Jasmine Williams (Smith County Jail)
Two adults and a juvenile are facing capital murder charges in Texas after they allegedly set up a man via social media by possibly offering him sex in a robbery ploy that ended in death.
Nathaniel Hall, 18, Jasmine Williams, 21, and a 16-year-old boy who has not been publicly identified are behind bars for the death of 20-year-old Kameron Montre Anderson.
Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith told reporters at a Saturday press conference the investigation began Sept. 1 in nearby Rusk County when deputies were called out for a car fire. When firefighters extinguished the flames they found a man, later identified as Anderson, dead in the trunk. He was suffering from several gunshot wounds.
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Smith said detectives were able to identify Hall as a possible suspect, along with Williams, his girlfriend, and the 16-year-old, a friend. Detectives believe the trio lured Anderson on social media from his Dallas-area home, possibly for sex, to Hall’s house in Smith County where the suspects planned to do a “rip,” which is slang for robbery, Smith said. At some point, Anderson was murdered. According to Smith, neighbors reported gunshots in the area of Hall’s home the night of Anderson’s death. Also, Hall’s mother reportedly told deputies her son had been with friends, including Williams and the juvenile suspect, that night.
After the shooting, the trio allegedly stuffed Anderson in the trunk of his own car and drove to Rusk County where they set the vehicle ablaze.
Cops obtained an arrest warrant for Hall. Police in Tyler conducted a traffic stop Wednesday with five people inside including Hall. Officers allegedly recovered an AR-15 rifle and a 9 mm handgun — the same caliber used in the murder — on Hall, both of which were stolen. Detectives are still trying to determine if that is the murder weapon. They also found 9 mm bullets during a search of Hall’s home.
Williams and the juvenile suspect were later taken into custody. Hall and Williams are at the Smith County Jail while the minor is at a juvenile facility.
Smith said while in jail, Hall called his sister and told her to “clean up” their house, which investigators take to mean that he wants the alleged murder scene scrubbed of evidence.
“We’re looking at the death penalty,” Smith said. “It is a capital offense. They robbed a person and killed him.”
The Smith County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether to seek the death penalty.
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