COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 44-year-old Columbus man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to three consecutive life sentences plus an additional 60 months for a series of murders tied to a narcotics conspiracy, federal prosecutors announced.
Larry J. Williams Jr., also known as “J Streets” and “J,” was convicted in December on all 16 counts in a second superseding indictment related to the 2018 killings. He received five additional life sentences to be served concurrently.
According to court documents and trial testimony, Williams led a plot to rob a marijuana dealer of drugs and cash at a Columbus residence. During the June 27, 2018 robbery at 847 E.N. Broadway, he fatally shot 23-year-old Connor Reynolds of Grove City.
In the weeks that followed, Williams murdered two others—Henry Watson, 52, and Tera Pennington, 48, both of Columbus—to prevent them from cooperating with law enforcement. The two were killed on the same day in August 2018.
Williams then instructed others to clean the crime scene with bleach and chemicals and directed co-conspirators to dismember and bury Watson and Pennington’s bodies to conceal the crimes.
The investigation also revealed Williams operated a drug house at 121 Stevens Ave., where fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine were sold and used. Prosecutors said drug users overdosed in the basement on multiple occasions, requiring Narcan to be administered.
The case was prosecuted following a multi-year investigation involving federal and local law enforcement agencies.