Suspect in extended-stay hotel killing arrested after evading authorities since Monday

Gulfport Police arrested and charged a suspect on Wednesday in a shooting death at an extended-stay hotel.

Antwon Duane Williams, 32, who had evaded authorities since Monday, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of first-degree murder, Gulfport Police said in a news release.

Police had searched for Williams since early Monday, when they identified him as the suspect in a shooting death of a 40-year-old man at InTown Suites.

Police responded about 1:21 a.m. Monday to a shooting in the 9100 block of Highway 49 and found Charles Martell Oatis dead from a gunshot wound.

Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an argument between the two men, police said.

Williams shot Oatis and fled the scene, police said.

Oatis sought help from the hotel manager but died of a single gunshot wound before he could tell the manager he had been shot, Harrison County coroner Brian Switzer said Monday.

Williams is held at Harrison County jail on $1,000,000 bond.

Police ask anyone with any information about the shooting to contact the Gulfport Police Department at 228-868-5959 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898.

Sun Herald Staff Writer Margaret Baker contributed reporting.

This story was originally published May 9, 2024 at 8:50 AM.