3 men killed in Troy shooting identified

TROY, Ala. (WSFA) - Police have released the names of three men who were killed in a shooting in Troy last week.

Jonathan Rayvon Williams, 23, of Troy, Christopher C. Stanford, 42, of Ozark, and Aquantis K. Thomas, 33, of Troy, were all found dead from gunshot wounds within just a few miles of each other.

After an investigation, police say that Jonathan Rayvon Williams is responsible for all three deaths, including his own.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, officers responded to a report of a man lying in the roadway in the 100 block of New Street. There, police found Aquantis Thomas dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

While investigating the scene, officers were directed to a nearby home on the same street where they found Christopher Stamford, who had also been fatally shot.

Police say witnesses at the scene told officers that Thomas’s vehicle, a gray Nissan Altima, had been taken.

TPD said a short time later, they received a call about a vehicle matching that description on the side of North Three Notch Street near Needmore Road.

When officers arrived there, they found Williams dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

Troy police confirmed Tuesday that Williams shot Stanford after forcibly entering his home. A short time later, he walked up the street where he encountered Thomas sitting in his girlfriend’s Nissan Altima.

Williams shot Thomas, pulled him out the car and drove away in it.

The Troy Police Department said the motive for the shooting is still unknown. They also say there does not appear to be any known relationship between Williams and the two other men.

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