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The Court of Appeal of the State of California
Third Appellate District

The People v. Vanessa Kay Williamson (106 Kb)

Williamson sentenced to life without parole

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

April 22, 2013

A 27-year-old Redding woman convicted last month of first-degree murder in 2010 shooting death of a Sacramento man was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole.

Vanessa Kay Williamson, who shook and sobbed uncontrollably before she was sentenced, claimed to be an innocent victim.

“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.”

During what was an emotionally-wrenching sentencing for three different sets of grieving families, Williamson’s former co-defendant, Robert Lee James IV, 25, also was sentenced, receiving 32 years, six months in prison for his role in Khelawan’s death.

But neither Judge Greg Gaul nor Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett was moved by Williamson’s tears and claims of innocence, both saying she has shown no remorse for her crimes.

“They are tears of pity for herself,” Bridgett said.

Gaul agreed, calling Williamson the “mastermind” behind a deadly chain of events that ended in Khelawan’s murder.

“Daniel Khelawan did not deserve this,” he said.

Gaul also said James was simply Williamson’s patsy.

“She used Mr. James to accomplish her goals,” he said. “She set him up” to do her bidding. “He was basically sucked into this.”

James, who was the gunman, pleaded guilty last year to voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery and other crimes in exchange for the prison sentence handed down Monday.

A nine-man, three-woman jury convicted Williamson last month after deliberating only an hour and 39 minutes.

In addition to first degree murder, the jury found her guilty of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and shooting at an occupied motor vehicles, as well as a series of enhancements.

This was the second time Williamson has stood trial in the death of Khelawan, 28, who was one of her two boyfriends, the other being James.

Last year, in Williamson’s first trial, a mistrial was declared after that jury deadlocked 11-1 with the majority voting to convict her.

During her closing arguments last month, Bridgett portrayed Williamson as a manipulative, vindictive and controlling woman who masterminded an attempted robbery try that ended in the unarmed Khelawan’s death.

She said Williamson and James hatched a plan to rob Khelawan, who delivered prescription medicines to nursing homes and other businesses throughout the north state, to try to scare him and steal his prescription drugs and cash.

Bridgett said it became clear to both defendants that Khelawan could not be allowed to live because he would turn them in to authorities.

She has maintained that Williamson duped James into killing Khelawan by telling him that he was stalking her and threatening her and her family, including her young daughter.

During his trial testimony last year, James said he rapidly fired five bullets at Khelawan on Jan. 8, 2010 after he and Williamson found him driving on West Street in Redding, a few blocks away from the Shasta County jail.

James said the shooting followed a heated cellphone and text message argument.

He has testified he was the lone gunman in the shooting and it was Williamson who convinced him to take along his father’s gun on that January night and who also loaded the 9 mm Glock used to kill Khelawan.

Williamson guilty of murder

By Jim Schultz - Redding Record Searchlight

March 14, 2013

A Shasta County jury (the second to hear the case) found a Redding woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend guilty this afternoon.

Vanessa Kay Williamson, 27, was found guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder.

The jury deliberated for one hour and 39 minutes before returning with its verdict.

Williamson is due to be sentenced on April 22 and faces life in prison without parole.

Closing arguments began Wednesday and wrapped up late this morning in the trial.

Williamson was found guilty of in the 2010 shooting death of Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, of Sacramento.

Williamson stood trial last year in the same case, but a mistrial was declared after that jury deadlocked 11-1 with the majority voting to convict her.

Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett portrayed Williamson Wednesday as a manipulative, vindictive and controlling woman who masterminded an attempted robbery try that ended up in the unarmed Khelawan's death.

"That's (attempted robbery) what the goal was," she said.

She said Williamson and former co-defendant Robert Lee James IV, 25, hatched a plan to rob Khelawan, who delivered prescription medicines to nursing homes and other businesses throughout the north state, to try to scare him and steal his prescription drugs and cash.

Although James, who was also dating Williamson, dismissed that idea earlier, Bridgett said, Williamson resurrected the plan after telling James that Khelawan was threatening her and her family, including her young daughter.

But, Bridgett said, it became clear to both that Khelawan could not be allowed to live because he would turn them into authorities.

"They went there (to Khelawan's known location) for two reasons: to rob him, to kill him," Bridgett said.

But defense attorney Adam Ryan, who tried to poke holes in the prosecution's case, dismissed that contention.

"There was no plan to rob him at all," he said, and adding that James acted alone in the shooting. "He's responsible for killing Mr. Khelawan."

During his testimony last year, James, who also testified at the retrial, said he rapidly fired five bullets at Khelawan, whom he did not know, on Jan. 8, 2010, after he and Williamson found him driving on West Street in Redding, a few blocks away from the Shasta County jail.

James said the shooting followed a heated cellphone and text message argument.

James said although he was the lone gunman in the shooting, it was Williamson who convinced him to take along his father's gun on that January night and who also loaded the 9 mm Glock used to kill Khelawan.

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

Williamson murder case ends in mistrial; one juror not convinced of woman's guilt

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

April 13, 2012

Eleven of 12 Shasta County jurors believed that a 26-year-old Redding woman was guilty of first-degree murder in the 2010 death of a Sacramento man she had been dating.

But that lone dissenter ? the jury's forewoman ? was all it took Thursday for a Superior County judge to declare a mistrial in Vanessa Kay Williamson's murder trial, setting the stage for her retrial.

Williamson hugged defense attorney Richard Farrell after the jury, some of them weeping and others visibly frustrated, left the courtroom. She was charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in the death of Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, during what has been described by police and prosecutors as a drive-by shooting.

Four of the jurors, all of whom declined to be identified, said outside the courthouse they believed Williamson was guilty of first-degree murder, but the forewoman would not vote to convict her because she felt sorry for her.

"It was all sympathy," a juror said.

Willamson, who remains in Shasta County jail in lieu of $1 million bail, is scheduled to return to court April 20 for the scheduling of a new trial date.

The eight-woman, four-man jury, which had deliberated for 3½ days, sent a message to Judge William Gallagher after deliberating for about an hour Thursday. They were deadlocked.

Gallagher, who polled the jury to see if there was anything he could do to help break the impasse, was told by a female juror she believed one of the jurors on the panel was biased.

That answer prompted Gallagher to order the other jurors to leave the courtroom so he could quiz her outside their presence.

That juror told Gallagher the forewoman was adamantly opposed to finding Williamson guilty of murder because she did not believe Williamson had been properly represented by Farrell and that she (the forewoman) would not convict her.

After the juror was excused, Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, who said this was not the first complaint made against the forewoman, told Gallagher the forewoman should be dismissed for misconduct and be replaced with an alternate.

"She has demonstrated so much bias and misconduct (that) it would be an injustice not to dismiss her," she said.

Farrell, however, said he believed the forewoman should remain.

"I see no reason to upset the apple cart at this point," he said.

Clearly uncomfortable about delving into the jury deliberation process, Gallagher called in the forewoman to question her about the impasse and what might be causing it without being too specific in his questioning.

The forewoman, who admitted she was the lone holdout, denied she was biased and said her decision came after thoughtful deliberations based on the evidence and testimony provided at trial.

Other individual jurors were subsequently brought into the courtroom, and they gave differing accounts of what they believed was causing the impasse.

Some said they thought the forewoman was basing her conclusion on flawed and faulty logic.

"It's outrageous to me," a male juror identified as Juror No. 1 said. "We are at the end of our rope and there's not even a knot there," he said.

Juror No. 3, another man, expressed dismay with the forewoman, saying it appeared to him she had dismissed the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard and wanted to be 100 percent certain of Williamson's guilt or innocence.

"She wants absolute no doubt," he said.

The forewoman, who was called into the courtroom for a second time, rebutted that claim.

"Absolutely not," she said when asked by Gallagher if she was applying a higher standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt threshold.

Based upon on the responses from the jurors questioned, Gallagher said there was no solid proof the forewoman had reached her decision in an incorrect manner that would warrant her removal.

If he removed her from the panel, his decision would be quickly reversed by an appellate court, he said.

Calling the entire jury back to the courtroom, Gallagher declared a mistrial, and also sought to salve the jury's unhappiness over the impasse. "I don't think I've encountered a jury that has worked harder," he said. "You have given everything we could expect of you." Williamson's trial began last month.

Williamson's former co-defendant, Robert Lee James IV, 24, whom she had also been dating and was the gunman in the shooting, pleaded guilty in January to voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery and other crimes in exchange for a 32-year, six-month prison sentence.

James testified last month during Williamson's trial that he fired five bullets at Khelawan on Jan. 8, 2010, after he and Williamson found him driving on West Street in Redding. They had gone looking for Khelawan following heated cellphone and text message argument between the trio.

James has said he pointed a handgun out the passenger side window of the car that Williamson was driving and fired it repeatedly because he thought Khelawan, who was not armed, had fired first.

Williamson has maintained the shooting happened after Khelawan had threatened to hurt her and her family, including her young daughter.

Ex-boyfriend details deadly shooting; Redding woman on trial, facing murder charge

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

March 14, 2012

A Redding man bound for a 32-year stay in prison described in Shasta County Superior Court Wednesday how ? and why ? he shot and killed his one-time girlfriend's ex-boyfriend.

That woman, Vanessa Kay Williamson, 26, is standing trial for first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting that killed Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, in 2010.

Robert Lee James IV, a former Cub Scout and Central Valley High School graduate who admitted to being long-addicted to prescription drugs, took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon at his former girlfriend's trial.

"I was the shooter," James told the jury, saying he rapidly fired five bullets at Khelawan on Jan. 8, 2010, after he and Williamson found him driving on West Street in Redding, a few blocks away from the Shasta County jail. James said the shooting followed a heated cellphone and text message argument.

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, James said although he was the lone gunman in the shooting, it was Williamson who convinced him to take along his father's gun on that January night and who also loaded the 9 mm Glock used to kill Khelawan.

Before the night erupted into gunfire, James said he and Williamson had been enjoying a quiet night at home.

When he was in another room, he said, Williamson "started screaming."

Williamson, who nearly constantly text messaged, told him she had just received a profane and threatening text from Khelawan, James said.

"She (repeatedly) said, 'He's going to kill my baby,'" James testified.

He said the two left his home to check on the welfare of her family, who were staying at the Capri Motel in Redding.

As they drove to the motel, James said, Williamson spoke on her cellphone with Khelawan, whom James had never met, and the dispute escalated into a screaming match involving all three of them.

When the two got to the motel, James said, Williamson's family told them everything was fine, and they began to look for Khelawan.

"I was nervous, but I consented and went along with her," James said.

He said he and Williamson had earlier hatched a plan to rob Khelawan to try to scare him and steal his prescription drugs. James said he had dismissed the plan.

But as part of that plan, James said, he was told he would need a gun for protection because Williamson told him Khelawan carried a gun.

Khelawan worked as a delivery man for a Sacramento business that delivered prescription drugs and other goods to businesses throughout the north state.

Williamson has claimed that Khelawan, whom she had dated and for whom she once had made deliveries, stalked her and threatened to harm her family after he demanded she pay him back for the money he spent to get her hair and nails done.

When he spotted Khelawan driving his car on West Street near Sacramento Street, James said, he thought he saw a gun in the other man's hand. James said he pulled the handgun from underneath a car seat and shot at Khelawan five times from the passenger window.

Khelawan's car swerved off the road and crashed in a yard, and the couple sped away, James testified.

No gun was found with Khelawan, police have said.

Bridgett said during her opening address to the jury last week that Williamson had broken off an intimate relationship with Khelawan in late 2009 after accusing him of cheating on her and then renewed a prior romantic relationship with James.

But Williamson's Redding defense attorney, Richard Farrell, has portrayed the victim as a jealous ex-con who desperately wanted to remain his client's boyfriend.

"She wanted to end the relationship, but he wouldn't let it go" Farrell told jurors last week, saying Williamson felt threatened by Khelawan and was afraid he would hurt her and her family.

James, who is expected to resume his testimony today, pleaded guilty in January to voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery and other crimes in exchange for a 32-year, six-month prison sentence. He also gave up his appellate rights as a part of the pact.

Due to his cooperation with law enforcement, James is being kept away from the general population in Shasta County jail, where he's been housed since his arrest.

Williamson faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

Ex-boyfriend slaying trial starts; Redding woman faces life in prison

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

March 6, 2012

A Redding woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in 2010 was portrayed by a prosecutor Tuesday as a betrayed and vindictive woman bent on revenge who manipulated her new boyfriend to kill him for her.

Vanessa Kay Williamson, 26, is being prosecuted for first-degree murder in the Jan. 8, 2010, shooting death of Daniel Ravnesh Khelawan, 28, of Sacramento.

"Nothing about this (killing) was self-defense in any way," said Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett during opening statements in Williamson's trial. "She used Robbie (Robert Lee James IV) to do her dirty work."

But Williamson's Redding defense attorney, Richard Farrell, contradicted Bridgett's portrayal and painted the victim as a jealous ex-con who desperately wanted to remain his client's boyfriend. Judge William Gallegher ordered the jury to disregard Khelawan's parole status at the time of the shooting.

"She wanted to end the relationship, but he wouldn't let it go" Farrell told jurors. He said Williamson felt threatened by Khelawan and was afraid he would hurt her and her family.

The trial is expected to last about four weeks. But already it's briefly touched on tales of sex, lies ? and even the existence of a surveillance videotape.

James, Williamson's alleged accomplice and former co-defendant had long maintained the shooting was in self-defense. But he changed the complexion of the defense case in January when he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery and other crimes in exchange for a 32-year, six-month prison sentence.

He is expected to testify as soon as next week at Williamson's trial.

During her opening statement, Bridgett claimed that Williamson had broken off an intimate relationship with Khelawan in late 2009 after accusing him of cheating on her.

Williamson then renewed a prior romantic relationship with James, Bridgett said. Williamson complained to James that Khelawan wanted her to return money and gifts he had given her and that he was stalking her and threatening her and her family members, including her young daughter, Bridgett said.

"She told him (James) that she had never dated him (Khelawan) and that he was threatening, stalking and harassing her," Bridgett said. "That's why he went along with her decision to get a gun."

It's alleged that James got a Glock 9 mm from his father's home. He and Williamson went to West and Gold streets where they knew the Sacramento man would be making a delivery, Bridgett said.

Khelawan worked as a deliveryman for a Sacramento business that delivered prescription drugs and other goods, including automobile parts, to businesses throughout the north state.

James has told police officers that after he and Williamson found Khelawan, he pointed the Glock out the passenger side window and fired at least five rounds at him in what's been described by police as a drive-by shooting.

One round struck Khelawan in the back and killed him, police and prosecutors have said.

James had long claimed that he fired the shots because he thought Khelawan had fired first, but Bridgett said Khelawan was unarmed. She also said a surveillance videotape taken near the crime scene also shows Williamson's car chasing Khelawan's car.

Williamson faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

Redding pair claim fatal shooting was self-defense

By Ryan Sabalow - Record Searchlight

January 13, 2010

A Redding couple told police they armed themselves with a handgun before confronting the man they claimed was threatening their family members before striking out Friday night for what turned into a drive-by slaying, court documents reveal.

In a police report filed in Shasta County Superior Court, investigators allege that Vanessa Kay Williamson, 24, and Robert Lee James IV, 22, got a Glock 9 mm from the home of James' father in Redding and used it to kill Daniel Khelawan, 28, of Sacramento.

Williamson loaded the weapon and drove while James fired the gun, police allege.

But Williamson's family members said Tuesday after a court hearing that James and Williamson have told them that Khelawan shot at the couple first and they shot back in self-defense.

"She was in fear of her life," said Williamson's mother, Cynthia Williamson, 49, of Redding. "What was she supposed to do?"

Redding police Lt. Scott Mayberry said Tuesday there is no evidence to indicate that Khelawan shot at the couple.

Williamson and James allegedly told investigators after their arrest Saturday that Khelawan had been in an argument with Williamson via a cell phone conversation and text messages before the shooting.

Williamson told investigators that Khelawan had threatened members of her family who had been staying for two weeks at the Capri Motel in south Redding, according to court documents.

But Khelawan's friend, Ravinesh Pratap, told officers that Khelawan had been talking with him on the phone throughout the day saying he had been in a fight with Williamson, whom Pratap described as the victim's girlfriend.

Pratap allegedly told investigators that his friend was worried that Williamson and "her cousin" were going to kill him.

Williamson and James aren't related.

Pratap showed officers a text message Khelawan sent before he died that said: "they got guns N they wanna fight," according to court documents.

Williamson suggested she and James locate Khelawan and protect her family, and bring a gun along, court documents allege.

She drove her red Ford Mustang to West and Gold streets where they knew Khelawan was, the report said.

James told officers he pointed the Glock out the passenger side window and fired at least five rounds, police said.

One round struck Khelawan in the chest and killed him, police say.

After the shooting, the couple fled and eventually were arrested at the home of James' father.

James and Williamson appeared Tuesday in Shasta County Superior Court for their scheduled arraignment, but the hearing was put off until Friday.

They didn't enter a plea, and their bail remained at $1 million each.

James' Redding attorney, John Kucera, said after the hearing that he needed more time to see what allegations the couple faced before moving forward. He declined to say more.

A public defender was appointed to represent Williamson.

During the hearing, James, who sat several feet away, blew a kiss to Williamson.

Williamson's family members had to be told by a bailiff not to try to communicate with her, as she looked pleadingly at them when they entered the courtroom. James' father, Redding chiropractor Robert Lee James III, also attended the session.

After the hearing, Cynthia Williamson said Khelawan and her daughter once worked together in a pharmaceutical delivery job.

The two had a falling-out, and Vanessa Williamson stopped spending time with Khelawan, Cynthia Williamson said.

Khelawan, whom she called "Dee," began stalking her daughter, which eventually led to the confrontation, Cynthia Williamson said.

Khelawan and her daughter were not romantically involved, she said.

Robert Lee James IV and her daughter had once dated and had remained friends, she said.

James called her after the shooting, Cynthia Williamson said.

"He told me he fired shots, but he said Dee had fired at him and he'd fired back," Cynthia Williamson said. "I heard screaming in the background, screaming and crying. She said, 'Mom, I need you,' but I couldn't help her. I couldn't be there for her."

Khelawan has a criminal history in Sacramento, Lt. Mayberry said, but he didn't know what charges Khelawan may have faced.

He had no arrests in Shasta County, Mayberry said.

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

Electronic Shasta County Superior Court records show no local charges.

Robert Lee James IV also doesn't have any criminal charges in Shasta County, per court records, but investigators say officers have had "numerous contacts" with him at his father's Cherwell Court home over the years.