The man charged with the murder of David Williams one year ago at a Princess Avenue apartment is set to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
The lawyer for Daniel Joseph Fabas was in BC Supreme Court on April 18 along with Chilliwack Crown counsel — exactly one year after the April 18, 2016 incident — to set a date of May 1 for the 35-year-old to plead guilty to manslaughter.
It was at approximately 7 p.m. that day when Chilliwack RCMP responded to a report of shots fired at 46101 Princess Ave., a small but notorious apartment known for criminal activity. An altercation between two men ended in the shots being fired.
Fabas and Williams were known to one another in the low-level illegal drug community in Chilliwack.
A day after the shooting, RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said police tried to revive Williams but he died at the scene.
Fabas was arrested 11 days later on April 29 and has remained in custody since then.
“The help received from the public has not gone unnoticed as it played a key role in obtaining the murder charge that Mr. Fabas now faces,” according to an IHIT press release from last summer.
On Aug. 16, a charge of second-degree murder was approved by Crown counsel. Fabas was also charged with possessing weapon for dangerous purpose, and possession of firearm contrary to order.
Fabas has a brief history with police including a charge of robbery in 2007. He was then charged with break and enter and escape from lawful custody in January 2009 and possession of stolen property over $5,000 and wilfully resisting an officer in February 2009. All of those offences took place in Chilliwack.
Williams was a father of three, and according to reports, his girlfriend was pregnant at the time of his death. He was also known to police and was due in court facing numerous charges in April. At his non-appearance in Chilliwack provincial court, a warrant was even issued for his arrest.
Williams was charged with possession of stolen property, uttering threats, using a firearm while committing an indictable offence, unauthorized possession of a firearm, assault, and break and enter. The charges came in connection to two offences, one from February 2016 and the other from August 2015.
When asked at the time if the shooting could have resulted from these charged, an IHIT spokesperson said she was unaware of Williams’ criminal history.
