A man who fatally shot his girlfriend in her New Rochelle apartment has been found guilty after the jury rejected his claim of self-defense.
Robert Wooten was convicted Friday, Oct. 23, of second-degree murder and weapon charges in the killing of Meisha Williams two years ago.
He faces up to 25 years in state prison - but will seek leniency under the state Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act by arguing that he was the victim of abuse by Williams and that it was a significant factor in the shooting.
Following an argument on the morning of Aug. 24, 2024, Wooten fired five shots - hitting Williams twice in the back - as she stood in the bathroom of her 21st floor apartment at 55 Clinton Place.
Wooten left immediately and drove to Queens, where
he was arrested that night after investigators used license plate readers to track his Cadillac Escalade.
The killing ended a tumultuous, four-year relationship between the two in which they lived in Georgia and Virginia before Williams moved to New Rochelle in the months before her death.
Wooten and Williams were ignoring an order of protection barring her from contact with him. That had been issued by a judge three months earlier after Williams was arrested for stabbing Wooten at a Virginia gas station near where they were living at the time.
The .45 caliber pistol was never found and Wooten claimed he dumped it in a sewer in Queens. He testified last week that the gun belonged to Williams, and that he grabbed it from her Gucci purse because he thought she was reaching for it. He said it was only to keep it away from her and he had no intention of using it until she brandished a large kitchen knife and threatened to stab him in the head.
Jurors repeatedly saw video from the apartment showing the argument, although there were numerous gaps in the footage because of uploading delays in the Blink camera Williams had installed in the kitchen.
Williams repeatedly told Wooten to get out and the prosecution argued that was why he killed her.
The shooting itself was not captured on the recordings and Wooten's lawyer Angela MacDonald argued that and all the other gaps created reasonable doubt because it required jurors to speculate and jump to conclusions.
"He acted the way he did because he was reasonably and justifiably acting in self defense," MacDonald said in his summation Monday.
Assistant District Attorney Kevin Jones countered that the evidence showing where Williams was shot made it clear she was not a threat to Wooten at the time and that his fleeing the apartment and getting rid of the gun was evidence of his consciousness of guilt.
In challenging Wooten's account, he repeatedly told jurors that the defendant needed them to believe particular details he recounted "because that's how you get away with murder."
Westchester Judge George Fufidio did not schedule a sentencing date because he anticipates a hearing will be needed to Wooten's DVSJA claim. The hearing will likely not happen until the new year.
To be eligible, Wooten must convince Fufidio that the prior violence he faced from Williams was a significant contributing factor to the murder.
While second-degree murder carries a minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison and a maximum of 25 to life, if Fufidio grants the DVSJA motion the maximum prison term would be 15 years.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Jury reaches verdict in fatal shooting of woman in New Rochelle by boyfriend
