Lynwood Kleckley Williams, 36, a Black man from Americus, Georgia, was killed in a shooting on February 17, 2018, in the 200 block of Waitsman Drive after a personal confrontation escalated into gunfire. Police found Williams and another man, Winfred Floyd, both wounded in the street. Williams was taken to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center and pronounced dead; Floyd survived and was flown to a trauma center in Macon. Medical evidence showed Williams died from a single gunshot wound to the back.

Investigators said Tahj Malik Ruff emerged as a person of interest, was brought in for questioning, and arrest warrants were issued; warrants were also issued for Floyd while he remained hospitalized. Prosecutors later presented evidence that Ruff and Floyd armed themselves and went to the home of Jamie Wilborn, where Floyd confronted Williams, who was Wilborn’s boyfriend.

A Sumter County grand jury indicted Ruff and Floyd in August 2018 and re-indicted them in May 2019; both were tried together in February 2020 and were found guilty on the charges in the re-indictment. The Georgia Supreme Court later affirmed Ruff’s convictions while finding a sentencing error and remanding for resentencing, leaving intact the central finding that Ruff was criminally responsible for Williams’s death. If anyone knew Lynwood Williams, his whereabouts that day, or has information about the confrontation, please share what is known.