Background: The home in Lithonia, Ga., where Keenan Williams allegedly shot and killed Cole Pitter. Inset top: Cole Pitter (Plummer Funeral Home). Inset bottom: Keenan Williams (DeKalb County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office/WSB).
A Georgia man will remain jailed while awaiting trial for allegedly gunning down his ex’s new boyfriend.
A DeKalb County judge denied bond for Keenan Maxwell Williams, 35, on Wednesday following a hearing, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB reported. Williams is accused of malice murder in the July 6 death of Cole Pitter, 36, who was shot to death on his girlfriend’s doorstep in Lithonia.
Pitter’s girlfriend was reportedly the mother of Williams’ child.
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Phone records show Williams lurked in the bushes outside the woman’s home for hours on multiple occasions, including the night he killed Pitter, prosecutors said, according to WSB.
Williams was arrested almost a month later, on Aug. 5, sheriff’s records show.
“Bond denied,” Judge Desiree Sutton Peagler is heard saying during the virtual hearing, according to WSB. Pitter’s family had told investigators that they would have feared for their lives if Williams had gotten out of jail.
“You never know who a person is or what can make a person snap – it’s kind of scary,” Cinamone Pitter, the victim’s sister, told the station.
Investigators accused Williams of harassing Pitter two months before killing him, including shooting Pitter’s car while he was at the woman’s home. Williams also allegedly broke into the house while Pitter was there just one week before the shooting. Law enforcement surveillance records also apparently showed Williams’ car leaving the scene minutes after the shooting.
Williams’ lawyer has reportedly argued that he shot Pitter in self-defense. Williams apparently shot Pitter 10 times.
According to an obituary, Pitter was born in Queens, New York, and was a musician in his spare time.
“From the moment Cole Everton Pitter entered this world, he brought light, laughter, and warmth to everyone around him,” the tribute said. “Cole’s journey was filled with brilliance, creativity, and compassion.”
Court records in Williams’ case do not indicate a future hearing date.
