One of three suspects in killing of EWU student in north Spokane sentenced to 10 years in prison

Anthony G. Williams, one of three men charged in a shooting that killed an Eastern Washington University student outside The Palomino Club in Spokane last year, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Friday.

Lashawn D. Jameison, 22, and Kwame D. Bates, 27, also were arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Eduardo Villagomez. Surveillance video from the club shows Villagomez was caught in the middle of a shootout in the club’s parking lot around 2 a.m. and was killed by a bullet from Williams’ gun, according to court documents. He was also run over by a car leaving the scene.

All three men were leaving the club after a party honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Bates and Jameison got in an argument with Williams, and both Williams and Bates retrieved guns from their cars and started shooting, according to court documents.

Williams, who police believe initiated the gun battle, was sentenced to 10 years and three months in prison – the lightest sentence possible for a sentencing range that includes a maximum term of life. The 23-year-old, who has no prior felonies, also was ordered to pay $10,800 in legal fees.

Jameison, who was an EWU football player but was dismissed from the team after the shooting, and Bates are awaiting trial set to begin Sept. 11. Both men are charged with first-degree murder and drive-by shooting, among other charges. Soon after their arrest the attorneys for both men argued that their clients should not be charged with murder, but a prosecuting attorney successfully argued in court that both men showed “extreme indifference to human life” by engaging in a gunbattle in a crowded area.

Villagomez was a junior at Eastern Washington University and transferred to the college from Wenatchee Valley College in the fall of 2015.