PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies have arrested a man, they say, shot and killed a 28-year-old Riviera Beach man six years ago, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) said Friday.
Derian Williams was arrested Thursday after a detective secured critical digital evidence and DNA linking Williams to the crime, PBSO said.
Tommy Lee Neal Jr. was murdered in his car on Jan. 20, 2019 at around 6 a.m, according to a probable cause affidavit. Deputies said the shooting happened on the 3600 block of Reese Avenue in the industrial area near West Palm Beach. Deputies found Neal, 28, dead the following morning from a gun shot wound, after his mother reported him missing.
In April 2019, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office released a video asking for the public's help in solving his murder.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Williams admitted to being inside the car with Neal but denied being involved in his homicide, though cellphone records show Neal and Williams were together prior to his death. In a review of Google data obtained through a search warrant related to Williams, multiple searches were located on Jan. 22, 2019 related to the homicide of Neal, using the search term "man found dead in car yesterday." The two had also communicated via phone, prior to Neal's death and DNA found on a soda bottle inside Neal's car was linked to Williams.
Deputies said Neal's gun, which was believed to have been taken at the time of the homicide, was recovered in March 2019 in West Palm Beach by someone who did not have involvement in Neal's death. The affidavit said they also found text messages from Williams trying to sell a gun that uses the same ammunition that was used in Neal's murder.
Williams is being held in Palm Beach County Jail on a first-degree murder charge.
