CASE CLOSED
Along the path of
investigating what happened to Danny Goldman, the volunteers discovered
the truth about other crimes of the same time period, including the
setup murder of Bobby Williams. The truth is exposed here after several
decades of relentless concealment.
In this video recorded statement of Timothy Drayton, made in 2013, he talks about what happened on August 5, 1966 when Bobby Williams, 18, died in a hail of gunfire from police shotguns. Drayton was there to see and hear the tragic event, from its initiation earlier that day through the long-term consequences he continues to live through.
The facts and details of what happened that night were concealed for five decades. We have investigated the case’s documentation, evidence, and witnesses, and have provided our findings to authorities (who have shown no interest and remain comfortable with the official version).
The official story is that Bobby Williams and others tried to burglarize a local bar, and that they were confronted by Sheriff’s detectives. Williams allegedly fired a shot at the detectives who then returned fire, killing Williams and wounding his associates. The scene was inspected by officials from the Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office, and the Medical Examiner’s Office. The detectives who opened fire gave statements, the case quickly went before Judges, and the case was closed. Williams was dead, and the others were in jail. The detectives were back at work.
Careful review of the available information and evidence indicates that Williams was set up. His group was convinced, by detectives, to enter that bar, that night. The detectives got the bar owner to close earlier than usual, to shut the door, turn off the lights, and to allow the detectives to stay inside. They took shooting positions behind the bar, facing the entry door, and waited. As Williams came in the way he had been instructed, twenty rounds of “00″ buckshot and several .38 bullets were fired at him by four Sergeants of the Sheriff’s Office. It was an ambush.
Bobby Williams had no criminal record. There was no weapon on him when he entered the premises and no powder residue on his hands after his death. A gun was found near his feet, but the evidence showed it must have been placed there after his death. An honorable detective, arriving just after the shooting, documented the complete absence of gun powder on Williams’ hands. The throwdown gun was a cheap auto pistol that would spray gunpowder out onto the hands of anyone who fired it.
This video interview of Timothy Drayton, and the discovered records, tell a story never before heard. Perhaps most disturbing of all is that this is not an isolated incident. Several others were shot and killed by deputies and officers during alleged “burglaries” in 1966. In each case, the “burglar” was assigned the task by the Sheriff’s Office itself, waiting detectives killed the person at the pre-designated place, and all of the shootings were quickly ruled justified by a most compliant system.
It is a piece of the puzzle, one of many, that helps answer the two main questions about Danny Goldman’s case. All of the men who were involved in the “burglar” shootings, including the Bobby Williams case, worked for Sheriff T.A. Buchanan and Chief of Detectives Manson Hill.
The video is lengthy but is an invaluable source of details, truth, and the whole story. Police and Inquest reports and statements are displayed for your own review and comparison.