HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford man accused of fatally stabbing another man during a late-night dice game in November 2023 has rejected a plea deal that would have spared him a potential life sentence.
Byron Williams, 38, declined a proposed agreement during a brief hearing Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court. The deal would have reduced his charge from murder to first-degree manslaughter and included a 20-year prison sentence.
Judge David P. Gold told Williams the offer would be withdrawn if he rejected it—an action that now places Williams’ case on the trial docket. However, further plea negotiations could still take place.
Williams is accused of killing Kendell Jones, 52, of East Hartford in the early hours of November 4, 2023, near a gas station on Albany Avenue. According to court documents, surveillance footage captured four men, including Jones and Williams, playing dice when Williams allegedly pulled a knife—believed to be Jones’ own—from Jones’ pocket and stabbed him multiple times.
“The suspect is then observed punching the victim until he falls to the ground,” the police affidavit states. It also says Williams and two other men placed Jones, who appeared unconscious, into the back seat of his vehicle. One man drove the car to St. Francis Hospital, while Williams followed in a Chrysler Pacifica rented by an acquaintance.
Williams was arrested in February 2024 and has been held on over $1 million bail. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
Police say cell phone data placed Williams at the scene at the time of the stabbing, and they received multiple tips pointing to his involvement. Williams, however, has denied participating in the killing. According to the affidavit, he told the woman who rented the Pacifica that while he was driving the car that day, “he did not do anything.”
Williams’ trial date has not yet been set.
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