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Dallas man who killed friend, fled to Louisiana gets 40 years in prison

A 33-year-old man who fled to Louisiana after shooting his friend was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a murder he said was self-defense.

J.T. Williams was convicted Monday and sentenced by the same Dallas County jury in the fatal 2016 shooting of 30-year-old Albert Brown at a park. 

J.T. Williams&nbsp;
J.T. Williams 

The pair were arguing in a car around 1 a.m. July 14, 2016, when Williams pulled a gun and shot Brown in the head. He pushed Brown's body out of the car and left it at west Oak Cliff's Pecan Grove Park in the 3400 block of Kiest Boulevard. 

Williams claimed he acted in self-defense and even after he was convicted, he told jurors that he deserved leniency. 

"I'm a good person," he testified. "I'm not a killer. I don't try to hurt people. I do none of that."

Williams' girlfriend was in the backseat of the car at the time of the shooting. She testified that Williams drove them back to a motel where they were staying and wouldn't let her leave his sight. 

He made her help him clean the car. She testified that he abused her, and she was afraid to call the police. 

Williams was arrested after a three-hour standoff with authorities in Natchitoches, La., weeks after the shooting. 

During a recorded police interview, Williams first tried to blame his girlfriend for killing Brown. 

Dallas police Detective Scott Sayers chided Williams during the interview for turning on his girlfriend. 

"She stuck up for you," Sayers told Williams. "The first thing you did was throw her under the bus." 

Williams then changed his story and said there was a struggle with Brown and he didn't mean to kill his friend. 

"I didn't mean to ... it just happened," he said. 

Williams twice testified in his defense during his murder trial, first to claim that his ex-girlfriend was lying about what happened the night of the shooting and then to say that she was cheating on him. 

After he was convicted, Williams sat at the witness stand and played a recording he claimed captured the sound of his ex-girlfriend having sex with another man. The recording sounded like ambient noise.

He also claimed that his family had tried to have him killed several times for insurance money. 

"I get it. It's a conspiracy against you," said prosecutor Stara Hendricson while questioning Williams. 

"Yes," he said.