Zachary T. Lee Acting United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
A Roanoke man has been sentenced to 150 months in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit robbery that resulted in the death of a drug supplier. Garrett Isaac Williams, 22, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery.
Williams’ co-defendant, Joseph Walker, received a 35-year prison sentence in April after pleading guilty to charges of Hobbs Act Robbery and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Court documents show that from at least January 2023, Williams and Walker conspired to distribute marijuana and marijuana wax supplied by an individual identified as E.B., who traveled from Pennsylvania to deliver drugs to their residence in Roanoke. After falling into debt with E.B., Williams and Walker planned to rob him instead of repaying what they owed. Their plan involved ordering more marijuana from E.B., then robbing him upon delivery.
On April 17, 2023, E.B. traveled from Pennsylvania with about 10 pounds of marijuana and two pounds of marijuana wax for a deal arranged by Williams. Williams kept in contact with E.B. during his trip and updated Walker on his movements. When E.B. arrived, Walker confronted him about a phone call made inadvertently to Walker’s mother before shooting E.B. twice and killing him. Following the shooting, Walker took the drugs brought by E.B., moved his body into the trunk of his car, drove it to Bedford County, Virginia, and set the vehicle on fire.
Although Williams was not present during the robbery or murder, he admitted to planning the robbery using force.
C. Todd Gilbert, United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia; Stephen Farina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division; and Colonel Matthew D. Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police announced the sentencing.
The investigation involved several agencies: The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia State Police led efforts with help from the United States Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Brevard County Sheriff’s Office; Roanoke City Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office; Roanoke City Police Department; Roanoke County Police Department; City of Lynchburg Police Department; and Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
The Star City Drug and Violent Crime Task Force also participated in investigating this case. This task force includes officers from local police departments such as Roanoke City Police Department, Roanoke County Police Department, City of Salem Virginia Police Department, Vinton Police Department, and Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Salem Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Coleman Adams and Kelly McGann prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew O. Inman.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative that brings together resources from the Department of Justice including its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). The operation aims to address illegal immigration issues as well as combat cartels and violent criminal organizations across communities nationwide.
