A Gary man got four years in prison Monday after a plea deal for opening fire outside a gas station. Two stray bullets struck and killed a woman sitting in a car.
James Guyton, 23, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, in the May 3, 2021 death of Jaelyn L. Williams, 21, of Gary. He was originally charged with murder.
Williams’ boyfriend told police he walked into the gas station on the 3100 block of W. 15th Ave. early in the afternoon when Guyton, driving a Chevrolet Malibu, who had pulled up, asked why he was looking at his car.
The man said he was just looking in that direction, and went to pay for gas. When the man walked out, Guyton, sitting in the Malibu, opened fire at him, charges allege. Williams, his child’s mother, sitting inside her black Chevrolet Impala, was struck twice in the head. The boyfriend went back to the gas station and asked them to call 911.
Judge Salvador Vasquez told Guyton Monday couldn’t understand why he did it, before ultimately accepting the plea deal.
“This looks like murder to me,” he said.
Early in the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Jovanni Miramontes said he wasn’t able to reach Williams’ family or their attorney to tell them about the plea. He had been in touch with her mother earlier in the case, he said.
Guyton’s lawyer Adrian Guzman said Guyton was “sorry” and “remorseful” for Williams’ death. He asked for four years – with two in prison and two on probation.
Miramontes said Williams was fatally shot in the face twice because her boyfriend, passing by, allegedly “looked at (Guyton’s) car”.
Even as Guyton didn’t technically have prior felony convictions, his juvenile record and subsequent arrests showed a “pattern” of “violence” and “carrying a gun when he’s not supposed to,” the prosecutor said.
As an adult, Guyton had two pending cases at the time of the shooting – for carrying a gun without a license, then a lower-level felony for drug dealing, plus a new misdemeanor handgun possession charge after Williams’ death.
Miramontes asked for five years in prison.
Guyton spoke briefly, clarifying he wasn’t convicted on some past gun possession charges.
“I believe that my attorney said everything,” he said, apologizing to the court.
Lake County saw “so many gas station murders,” Vasquez said, where people crossed paths with guns. “I don’t know why. Maybe I never will.”
Nearly every time, the people involved were “strangers”.
The judge noted Guyton said in his presentence investigation report that he took the plea because he wanted to get home to his kids.
“A role model doesn’t go to prison,” he said. “A role model doesn’t kill people.”
Williams was unresponsive on the scene. She was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. at Methodist Hospital. Her cause of death was a “massive brain injury” from two bullets, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
Police found multiple 9 mm bullet casings in the parking lot. Security footage appeared to show the boyfriend dodging gunfire. Guyton continued to shoot as he pulled out of the parking lot to Chase Street, charges allege.
Guyton was at the gas station for only three minutes from 12:42 p.m. to 12:45 p.m., documents show.
A witness told police Guyton said he had opened fire at a gas station when another man shot at him, but claimed he wasn’t sure who killed Williams, charges state. He then admitted shooting her when the witness said police would look at the security cameras.
mcolias@post-trib.com