Man indicted for deadly Broughton Street shooting in May; got plea deal for previous shooting

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A Chatham County grand jury has indicted a man on murder charges after police say he shot two people in downtown Savannah.

Rashad Williams, 26, faces nine felony charges, including malice murder. The charges are in connection to a May 8 shooting at Broughton and Bull streets.

The Savannah Police Department says Williams was in his car when an argument turned deadly around 2:30 a.m. Police say Williams shot and killed 32-year-old Ashton Gibbs. A 30-year-old woman, who was also shot, survived.

U.S. Marshals later tracked down and arrested Williams in Ohio.

WTOC Investigates has learned Williams was on probation at the time for another shooting that happened in 2018.

WTOC Investigates learned the details in the two shootings are remarkably similar.

According to court records, on Aug. 8 of that year, Williams got into an argument with a woman on Capitol Street.

Williams then got a gun from his car and made threats. As he left, Williams shot at two witnesses.

One of them was grazed by a bullet but neither were seriously injured.

As a part of a plea deal negotiated by the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office, Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in exchange for a 15-year sentence, 11 of them on probation.

He also received first time offender status, which means if he finishes his probation - the felony charge will be wiped from his record.

During the plea hearing, the prosecutor said Williams was getting, “a tremendous deal in being able to walk away from this having shot at multiple people.”

The judge who approved the plea deal told Williams he was “lucky” that he didn’t kill someone.

According to the terms of his probation, Williams was not allowed to carry a gun. The deal came together in August of last year.

As for this new murder indictment for the May shooting, Williams is expected to face a judge next week for a bond hearing.

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