Grand jury: Close Lockheed probe

By By Terry R. Cassreino / assistant managing editor
Nov. 22, 2003
A Lauderdale County grand jury recommended Friday that law enforcement officers close their investigation of a July workplace shooting at Lockheed Martin that left seven people dead.
The jury did not return any indictments in the case. And, Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie who met with jurors for about 11⁄2 hours Friday morning said he didn't anticipate any indictments.
The grand jury's recommendation came more than four months after longtime Lockheed Martin employee Doug Williams opened fire on fellow workers early in the morning of July 8.
Williams, 48, killed five people, injured nine others and then took his own life. One of the people injured later died of her injuries.
Williams was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle; he only used the shotgun.
Details of the investigation into the shooting spree remain secret.
But, Sollie said, he could be ready to publicly discuss the investigation and its findings at a news conference possibly sometime next week or during the second week of December.
Sollie said the exact date of the news conference depends on when representatives from Lockheed Martin and other investigating agencies can be in Meridian to attend.
Besides the sheriff's department, Sollie said, other agencies that participated in the probe include the Mississippi Highway Patrol; the Mississippi Crime Lab; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and the FBI.
Sollie said his main focus Friday was his grand jury meeting. Grand juries meet in secret, can investigate criminal accusations and can indict people for trial if there is sufficient evidence.