Boy, 16, pleads guilty in gang killing

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001 | 9:09 a.m.

A 16-year-old boy arrested in connection with a North Las Vegas gang shooting pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

As a result of the plea agreement, Anthony Gantt, who according to state law must be treated as an adult, will receive a life sentence with parole possible after 10 years for the murder of Joseph "Doughboy" Williams.

It will be up to District Judge Michael Douglas to decide Feb. 5 if the teen should serve a two- to 10-year sentence for conspiracy simultaneously or consecutively.

Williams, 26, was shot 16 times by four different weapons March 3 at the Buena Vista Apartments on Morton Avenue.

In an affidavit filed in North Las Vegas Justice Court, a woman who lives in the neighborhood told police on May 1 that she saw the shooting.

The woman said Williams was walking with Gantt and Lailoni Morrison, 21, on Morton Avenue when Williams raised his hands in the air and Morrison pulled out a gun and fired it at him. She said Ashley Bennett, 27, and three others who were not charged also opened fire.

Jury selection in Bennett's case began Tuesday afternoon, and Morrison is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 14.

As part of his plea agreement, Gantt agreed to testify against both men. The teenager is expected to repeat what he told police when he was arrested.

Gantt told detectives that he and the other men were at the home of a friend whose brother, Mark Doyle, had been shot to death the night before. While there, they decided to shoot up the house of a rival gang member.

Before they arrived they saw a security officer and began walking in another direction. According to a police affidavit, Gantt said they came across Williams and opened fire.

Gantt identified the weapons used by each of the men, and shell casings found at the scene corroborate his story, police said.