Vanessa Williamson

Case information

Vanessa Kay Williamson was convicted by a Shasta County jury and was sentenced to life in prison without parole on April 22, 2013.

Timeline

• January 8, 2010 — Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Redding.
• January 2010 (night of the shooting) — Robert Lee James IV testified that he fired five bullets at Khelawan on Jan. 8, 2010 after he and Williamson found him driving on West Street in Redding.
• April 13, 2012 — A Superior County judge declared a mistrial in Williamson’s murder trial after the jury deadlocked.
• March 6, 2012 — Williamson’s trial began in Shasta County Superior Court; she was portrayed by the prosecutor as acting out of revenge and manipulating her new boyfriend to kill her ex-boyfriend.
• March 14, 2012 — Robert Lee James IV testified at Williamson’s trial that he was the shooter and that Williamson had convinced him to take along his father’s gun and had loaded the Glock used to kill Khelawan.
• March 14, 2013 — A Shasta County jury (the second to hear the case) found Williamson guilty of first-degree murder and other counts; she faced life in prison without parole and was due to be sentenced on April 22.
• April 22, 2013 — Williamson was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The offence

Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, was killed in 2010 during what police and prosecutors described as a drive-by shooting.

Williamson and Robert Lee James IV had a plan involving an attempted robbery. Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett portrayed Williamson as a manipulative, vindictive and controlling woman who masterminded an attempted robbery that ended in Khelawan’s death. Bridgett said Williamson and James hatched a plan to rob Khelawan to steal prescription drugs and cash and to try to scare him.

James testified that he rapidly fired five bullets at Khelawan on Jan. James described the shooting as following a heated cellphone and text message argument. He also testified that although he was the lone gunman, Williamson convinced him to take along his father’s gun and loaded the 9 mm Glock used to kill Khelawan.

Police and prosecutors said Khelawan was unarmed and that no gun was found with Khelawan. One round struck Khelawan in the back and killed him.

Williamson maintained that the shooting happened after Khelawan threatened to harm her and her family, including her young daughter. Williamson also claimed that Khelawan was stalking her and threatening her and her family after he demanded she pay him back for money he spent to get her hair and nails done.

Investigation and arrest details

A police report filed in Shasta County Superior Court alleged that investigators determined that Vanessa Kay Williamson, 24, and Robert Lee James IV, 22, got a Glock 9 mm from James’ father’s home in Redding and used it to kill Daniel Khelawan. The report also alleged that Williamson loaded the weapon and drove while James fired the gun.

Investigators alleged that Williamson and James went to West and Gold streets where they knew the Sacramento man would be making a delivery. Khelawan worked as a delivery man for a Sacramento business that delivered prescription drugs and other goods, including automobile parts, to businesses throughout the north state.

Williamson and James told investigators after their arrest Saturday that Khelawan had argued with Williamson via cell phone and text messages before the shooting and that Khelawan threatened members of Williamson’s family staying at the Capri Motel in south Redding.

A friend of Khelawan, Ravinesh Pratap, told officers that Khelawan was worried that Williamson and “her cousin” were going to kill him and showed officers a text message Khelawan sent before he died that said: "they got guns N they wanna fight," according to court documents. Pratap described Khelawan as having been in a fight with Williamson.

Other people

Victim

Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, of Sacramento, was the victim.

Defendant

Vanessa Kay Williamson, 24 at the time of the January 2010 arrest-related court reporting, was 26 during the 2012 trial reporting, and was 27 during the 2013 sentencing and retrial reporting.

Co-defendant and gunman

Robert Lee James IV was Williamson’s former co-defendant and gunman in the shooting. He was 22 at the time of the January 13, 2010 court reporting, and 24 during March 2012 trial reporting. In the sentencing reporting, he was 25.

James pleaded guilty in January to voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery and other crimes in exchange for a 32-year, six-month prison sentence.

Family members and other named individuals

Cynthia Williamson, 49, was named as Williamson’s mother of Redding. Robert Lee James III was named as the father of Robert Lee James IV and was described as a Redding chiropractor.

Police and prosecutors named included Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett, and Judge William Gallegher, Judge Greg Gaul, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, and Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett.

Defense attorneys named included Richard Farrell, Adam Ryan, and John Kucera.

Redding police Lt. Scott Mayberry was named in the January 13, 2010 court reporting.

Trial

First trial and mistrial

Williamson was charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in the death of Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28. The trial began last month relative to March 6, 2012 reporting and was expected to last about four weeks.

On April 13, 2012, a Superior County judge declared a mistrial after the jury deadlocked. Eleven of 12 jurors believed Williamson was guilty of first-degree murder, and the lone dissenter was the jury’s forewoman. Williamson remained in Shasta County jail in lieu of $1 million bail and was scheduled to return to court April 20 for scheduling of a new trial date.

Jurors reported outside the courthouse that the jury forewoman would not vote to convict because she felt sorry for Williamson and that it was “all sympathy.” The court conducted questioning to address an impasse, including an inquiry about potential bias.

The judge polled the jury and was told by a female juror that she believed one juror on the panel was biased. The judge then questioned the juror outside the presence of the other jurors. Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett argued that the forewoman should be dismissed for misconduct and replaced with an alternate, and the defense attorney Richard Farrell opposed dismissal.

After additional jurors gave differing accounts, the judge declared a mistrial and said he did not think he had encountered a jury that had worked harder and that the jury had “given everything we could expect of you.”

Second trial and conviction

In March 2013, a Shasta County jury (the second to hear the case) convicted Williamson. The jury deliberated for one hour and 39 minutes before returning its verdict.

The jury found Williamson guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder. The jury also found her guilty of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and shooting at an occupied motor vehicles, as well as a series of enhancements.

During closing arguments, Bridgett portrayed Williamson as masterminding an attempted robbery that ended in Khelawan’s death. Bridgett said Williamson and James hatched a plan to rob Khelawan to steal prescription drugs and cash and to scare him. She said it became clear that Khelawan could not be allowed to live because he would turn them in to authorities.

Defense attorney Adam Ryan dismissed Bridgett’s contention and told the jury there was “no plan to rob him at all,” and he argued that James acted alone in the shooting and was “responsible for killing Mr. Khelawan.”

James testified at the retrial that he fired five bullets at Khelawan after he and Williamson found him driving on West Street in Redding on Jan. 8, 2010. James testified that the shooting followed a heated cellphone and text message argument and that it was Williamson who convinced him to take along his father’s gun and who loaded the 9 mm Glock used to kill Khelawan.

Sentencing

On April 22, 2013, Williamson was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Williamson shook and sobbed uncontrollably before she was sentenced and claimed to be an innocent victim.

Williamson said: “I never wanted anyone to be harmed,” she said, noting she was not the one who pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28. “Mr. (Robert) James pulled the trigger,” she said. “I just don’t understand why everybody’s coming down on me. I don’t understand why it’s all me.”

Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett and Judge Greg Gaul were not moved by Williamson’s tears and claims of innocence. Bridgett said: “They are tears of pity for herself,”

Judge Greg Gaul called Williamson the “mastermind” behind a deadly chain of events that ended in Khelawan’s murder and said James was simply Williamson’s patsy. Gaul said: “Daniel Khelawan did not deserve this,” he said. “She used Mr. James to accomplish her goals,” he said. “She set him up” to do her bidding. “He was basically sucked into this.”

Outcome

Williamson was sentenced to life in prison without parole on April 22, 2013.

Aftermath and related legal consequences

James was sentenced at the same time as Williamson. For his role in Khelawan’s death, James was sentenced to 32 years, six months in prison. James had pleaded guilty in exchange for the prison sentence.

Williamson’s jury conviction followed an earlier mistrial in 2012 after a deadlocked jury.

Other details

Jury deliberations

In the first trial, the jury deliberated for 3½ days before deadlocking.

In the second trial, the jury deliberated for one hour and 39 minutes.

Bail and custody

Williamson remained in Shasta County jail in lieu of $1 million bail during the mistrial period.

Statements and assertions during the proceedings

Bridgett said during opening statements that there was “no plan to rob him at all,” and defense counsel Richard Farrell portrayed the victim as a jealous ex-con who desperately wanted to remain his client's boyfriend, and he said: “She wanted to end the relationship, but he wouldn't let it go”

Prior warrant mentioned for Williamson

Vanessa Williamson had a $10,000 warrant from 2007 in Montana charging her with possessing drugs with the intent to sell, according to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office Web site.

Khelawan’s criminal history mentioned

Khelawan had a criminal history in Sacramento, but Lt. Mayberry said he did not know what charges Khelawan may have faced and that he had no arrests in Shasta County.

Missing bodies statement

The narrative included the phrase “the bodies were never found,” but no further context was provided in the supplied material.