On March 27, 2021, the Jackson Police Department was dispatched to the “Mo Zeppy’s Hookah Café” on
Federal Drive in Jackson, Tennessee, after a caller indicated that multiple shots had been fired in the parking lot and
roadway. Upon arrival, officers located numerous shell casings on the scene and observed a vehicle struck by
gunfire. One young man, Demethrius Williams, suffered gunshot wounds to his neck and lung during the exchange
of gunfire. He later died from his injuries, despite his friends’ efforts to transport him to the hospital. By all witness
accounts, Williams was at the Hookah Café to celebrate college graduation with fellow Lane College students and
had no part in the altercation that ultimately led to a shootout in the parking lot. The proof indicated that Mr.
Williams was shot as he attempted to flee the area.
On June 3, 2021, law enforcement arrested Ryon Easley, then age seventeen (17), of Jackson, Tennessee,
on suspicion of the murder of Demethrius Williams. During an interview, Easley admitted to leaning out of the back
of a gold Suburban and firing an AR-15 style rifle at individuals while driving away from the Hookah Café.
On May 2, 2022, a Madison County Grand Jury indicted Ryon Easley for the First-Degree Murder of
Demethrius Williams, as well as the Attempted First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault of multiple individuals
endangered by the gunfire in the crowded parking lot.
On July 16, 2024, the State of Tennessee tried Ryon Easley before a jury on the indictment, Assistant
District Attorney Brad Champine represented the State of Tennessee. On July 19, 2024, after a three-day trial, the
jury convicted Easley of Second-Degree Murder, Attempted Voluntary Manslaughter, Employing a Firearm During
Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Assault, and four counts of Aggravated Assault. Sergeant Adam Pinion of the
Jackson Police Department led the investigation.
On September 3, 2024, Judge Donald Allen sentenced Easley to a total of thirty-one (31) years in prison.
“As Mr. Williams’ father stated at the sentencing hearing, there was one crime that Mr. Easley was not
charged with: theft,” said District Attorney Jody Pickens. “He stole a young man, an only son, from his father and
mother. While Mr. Easley will most likely survive his sentence, Mr. Williams’ parents will never again be able to
speak to their son in this life. No sentence can ever make them whole, we take solace in the fact that while he serves
his sentence, Mr. Easley will have a long time to think about just how much he took from these parents. We also
take satisfaction that for the next three decades, our community will not have to fear violence from this defendant.”
