By Ray King
A Pine Bluff man sentenced to prison last year failed Wednesday to convince the Arkansas Court of Appeals that the judge at his trial erred by denying his directed verdict motion.
Darryl Williams, 39, is serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted of aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His sentence also includes a firearms enhancement.
According to court documents, Williams worked for Hixson Lumber Company and was fired in 2019 for stealing time during his scheduled night shifts. When he went to pick up his paycheck, he got into an altercation with an employee and was warned that he needed to leave, or police would be called. In the process of leaving, he picked up a crosscut, which is a 6-foot by 6-foot piece of lumber and threw it, hitting another employee in the knee.
After hitting the employee, he began walking backwards and allegedly pulled out a chrome-colored revolver which he pointed at the two employees before leaving in a vehicle.
At trial, the employees testified to what they saw, and security video was shown but the video did not show a weapon because the camera angle was blocked by a pole.
After the prosecution rested, Williams’ attorney asked for a directed verdict because the state failed to prove that Williams had a gun. Circuit Judge Alex Guynn denied that motion and the defense rested without putting on a case.
Writing for the Appeals Court, Judge Waymond Brown said that Williams did not challenge his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and since possession was the sole basis for the appeal, the conviction was upheld.
Williams will be eligible to apply for parole in December 2026.
