Waynesburg man sentenced to prison for movie theater shooting
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Chris Williams is led to Washington County jail Thursday morning after being sentenced to serve 2 to 5 years in state prison for attacking a group of teenage boys while watching a movie at Washington Crown Center’s theater in March 2019.
Chris Williams
The former SCI-Greene corrections officer convicted of attacking several teens at a North Franklin Township movie theater in 2019 that left one of the boys with a gunshot wound to his leg was sentenced Thursday to serve time in a state prison.
Chris Williams, 55, of Waynesburg, was sentenced by Judge Valerie Costanzo to serve 2 to 5 years in prison after she said he showed no remorse following his conviction in May while continuing to claim that he was the victim in the assault.
A Washington County jury convicted Williams on misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and two counts of simple assault in the March 23, 2019, incident during a late-night showing of “Us” at Washington Crown Center mall’s movie theater. But the jury acquitted him of the most serious charges in the case, including two felony counts of aggravated assault and one misdemeanor charge of terroristic threats.
Costanzo said she imposed the harsher sentence on Williams after he “failed to accept responsibility or show remorse” following his conviction, along with the physical and psychological pain that shooting victim Anthony Ward suffered.
“Mr. Williams,” Costanzo said, “you are not the victim.”
After handing down her sentence, Costanzo walked Williams through his acts in which he confronted a group of six teenage boys who were talking during the movie and told them to “shut the (expletive) up” as he walked over and stood in their row. Williams then punched one of them, prompting the group to defend themselves as a brawl ensued before the teens left the theater. Williams chased after them and pointed his handgun to the head of Ward, who was 17 at the time, before they struggled for the weapon in the theater’s hallway and one shot was fired into the teen’s leg.
Ward was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital, but still has bullet fragments in his leg.
“As tragic as this was, we all know it could’ve been much worse,” Costanzo said.
Williams testified before his sentencing, claiming that he thinks about Ward each day, but didn’t appear to offer a direct apology to him or his family for his actions at the theater.
“A couple of changes, different things I could’ve done differently,” Williams said. “It was a nightmare for everyone.”
But Costanzo read in court some of the presentence statements Williams made to Adult Probation in which he shifted blame to the teenagers and never took responsibility for the incident.
“I’m sorry. It was self-defense. I’m sorry. These guys are going to be trouble for you one day,” Williams apparently told presentencing investigators. “I’m sorry. I was the victim that night.”
Senior Deputy Attorney General Patrick Schulte, who prosecuted the case, said there was a “horrifying lack of remorse” by Williams, even after he had been convicted of initiating the fight and endangering Ward’s life with the firearm. Afterward, Schulte blasted the defendant’s presentencing comments and how he still views himself as the victim.
“It was hideous, and I think his sentence is reflective of his inability to be truly sorry about what he did to these young people,” Schulte said.
Williams suffered various injuries during the brawl, but none of the teens involved in the melee have been charged in the case because investigators believed they acted in self-defense after he confronted them.
Defense attorney Al Lindsay said Williams was “disappointed” with the sentence and they would consider their options for an appeal.
“They’re very upset,” Lindsey said of Williams and his family.
Williams, who was wearing a mask per the courthouse’s new requirement for everyone to wear face coverings, was immediately handcuffed by sheriff’s deputies and led to the Washington County jail for initial processing. From there, he will be taken to SCI-Smithfield in Huntingdon County, where he will be evaluated, and it will be determined in which state prison he’ll serve his sentence.
Williams was a longtime corrections officer at SCI-Greene near Waynesburg before he was suspended without pay while awaiting trial. He was reinstated to his position June 13, but he retired from the job on July 24, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Ward did not attend the sentencing, but his family members appeared to be pleased with the result following what they said has been a traumatic time in all of their lives.
Ward’s mother, Tenaya Reese, gave a victim impact statement on behalf of her son after she said he has “lost all faith in the legal system” in light of Williams’ acquittal of the most serious charges, including the felony counts connected to the shooting. Ward was 17 at the time of the incident, and all of his friends with him were also under the age of 18.
“He was viewed as an adult instead of a child,” Reese said of the defense’s strategy during trial. “I believe he protected his friend. I think he acted more like an adult than the 55-year-old defendant.”
She said if not for the strength of her son and “divine intervention,” he may have died after suffering the gunshot wound to his right leg. While Reese said they were disappointed with the jury’s verdict, they were hopeful Williams would face a harsh punishment through his sentence.
The victim’s uncle, Christopher Ward, said his nephew continues to suffer psychological trauma beyond the physical wounds from the encounter with Williams.
“He’s scared. ‘What if this guy comes back to get us?’ It breaks my heart to see him in that state,” Christopher Ward said while giving a victim impact statement.