From: Platte County Prosecuting Attorney "Eric Zahnd"

Date: May 20, 2010

Subject: 45 year sentence for murder, assault

A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison following

his second trial for a 2001 murder and assault. Cornelle D. Williams, 29,
received the sentence in Platte County Circuit Court on May 20, after a
second jury found him guilty of shooting one man and firing two shots
at another man in March.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric

Zahnd said, “Nine years ago,
one man died and another
came within inches of the
same fate at the hand of this
defendant. He pulled out a
MAC-10, shot one man in the
face and tried to shoot
another man. Decades in
prison is a fitting end to the
long process of bringing the
defendant to justice.”

Judge Abe Shafer followed

the jury’s recommendation of
25 years in prison for second
degree murder, 10 years for
first degree assault, and 5 Williams' Weapon Cornelle Williams
years for each of two counts
of armed criminal action.
Shafer ordered the sentences
to run consecutively,
resulting in the 45-year
prison term.

Prosecutors proved at trial that Williams and his friend, Kevin Johnson,
went to a Kansas City wheel and tire store on February 24, 2001, where
they met Rusty Clinton, who was an employee. Clinton introduced
Williams and Johnson to his best friend, who was at the store and trying
to sell some used wheels.

The four men then went to Clinton’s friend’s apartment to purchase the
wheels for $300. However, evidence at trial showed that Williams knew
Johnson did not intend to pay $300 for the wheels.

Once in the apartment, Williams shot Clinton in the face with a semi-
automatic machine pistol and fired two shots at Clinton’s friend. Clinton
died, and one of the shots tore through the T-shirt Clinton’s friend was
wearing.

Williams and Johnson fled the apartment. Williams was found hours
later, hiding in the closet of a relative’s apartment.

Williams was originally found guilty by a Platte County jury in 2002.

Prosecutors were forced to retry the case after an appellate court found
Williams’ attorney in the first trial ineffective.

Johnson pled guilty to second degree robbery in 2002 and was

sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Zahnd said, “Rusty Clinton’s family has had to deal with the grief of his
death and the trauma of not one, but two, trials to hold his killer
accountable. We can only hope this long prison term will finally give
them some well-deserved peace and comfort.”

The case was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff's Department,

with assistance from the Kansas City Police Department. Zahnd and
First Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gibson handled the jury trial.

Eric G. Zahnd
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney
415 Third Street
Suite 60
Platte City, Missouri 64079
(816) 858-3476
(816) 858-3472 (fax)