A 911 hang-up sent deputies to a Clayton home — then they heard gunshots inside
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A woman is dead in Johnston County after her boyfriend allegedly shot her and her son.
- Princess Russell, 41, died shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday in Clayton.
- Jerry Ross Williams, 41, was arrested in the incident.
A double shooting that left a woman dead in a Johnston County home early Saturday was apparently domestic in nature.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office was called to Valleyfield Drive in Clayton Saturday morning, according to a news release. Deputies went to the residence after someone called 911 about 2:50 a.m. and hung up, The Johnston County Report said.
Upon arriving, deputies heard gunshots and saw an 18-year-old, whom The News & Observer is not naming to protect his privacy, jump out a second-story window. The teen had been shot once and told first responders his mother’s boyfriend had shot him and his mother, according to the Johnston County Report.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed those details Monday.
Princess Russell, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene, while her son was taken to the hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Jerry Ross Williams, 41, is charged with murder, attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon in the incident, court documents show. He allegedly used a Glock handgun in the shooting, according to his arrest warrant.
Williams’ home address is listed as being on Valleyfield Drive on his arrest warrant.
Williams pleaded guilty in March 2003 to attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, and robbery with a dangerous weapon in an October 2002 incident in Wake County, court records show. The N&O reported in 2002 that he’d been charged in a carjacking in Raleigh where a 36-year-old man was shot in the ankle. Williams and his two codefendants were all 18 at the time, according to the article.
Williams was sentenced to a minimum of seven years and 11 months and a maximum of 10 years and 3 months in prison in the incident, court records show. He was released from prison Sept. 21, 2010, and successfully completed parole June 18, 2011, according to state records.
Williams hadn’t faced any serious charges since his release, except for a July 2012 plea to second-degree trespass in Durham County, court records indicate. That incident involved domestic violence, according to court records. He was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation and 15 days in jail.
Williams was being held in the Johnston County jail without bail Monday afternoon.
