The defense attorney for a heavily inked Louisiana double-murder suspect is seeking jurors who are able to look past his client’s myriad face tattoos as they consider the case, according to a new report.
William Bottoms, 29, of Greenwell Springs, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the slayings of Dedrick Dewayne Williams, 23, and Mohamed Sead Hussain, 29, in June 2017, according to The Advocate newspaper.
As East Baton Rouge Parish Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings questioned the first panel of 14 potential jurors Monday, she made no mention of Bottoms’ striking facial tattoos — but when Bottoms’ attorney, Jarvis Antwine, started speaking, he got right to it.
The vast majority of the panel told Antwine they’d have no problem with Bottoms’ facial tattoos.
“It’s a personal choice,” one man said.
Another woman told the attorney she didn’t care for tattoos, but wouldn’t judge Bottoms on that basis.
Both of those jurors were preliminarily selected to join the panel of seven — but a third woman who said she had three tattoos was not, according to the report.
Bottoms could spend the rest of his life behind bars if he is found guilty of second-degree murder, according to the report.
The bodies of Williams and Hussain were discovered June 1, 2017, in a rural community — each shot in the head, with their bodies covered by a sheet, according to the report.
Dedrick Dewayne Williams (left) and Mohamed Sead HussainSt. Helena Parish Sheriff's OffiBottoms’ then-girlfriend, Megan Marie Gaylord, 29, is set to testify for the prosecution — she initially was charged as an accessory, but the DA’s office subsequently dropped the charge, the paper reported.
Gaylord claimed that she, Bottoms and the two victims had used drugs, and that she was driving a car in which the other three were passengers, according to the report. Suddenly, Bottoms, who was riding beside her, became paranoid and gunned down Williams and Hussain, who were riding in the back seat, the paper reported.
Gaylord then drove to Bottoms’ home, where he picked up the bedsheet, as well as some bleach to destroy fingerprints and evidence, according to an arrest report obtained by the outlet.
