Don Shrubshell photo

Columbia police Officer Mark Brotemarkle handcuffs Damon A. Williams, 23, of Ashland yesterday as other officers keep their weapons pointed at the suspect after an hourlong standoff at the Eastwood Motel. Williams was wanted in connection with Tuesday’s shooting death of Nathaniel Bentley, 22, of Columbia. No one was injured in the standoff yesterday. •  See the Slide Show

After about an hourlong standoff at a Columbia hotel, police yesterday afternoon arrested the alleged gunman accused in the shooting death of 22-year-old Nathaniel Bentley.

Damon A. Williams, 23, of Ashland was captured at about 2 p.m. when he came out of Room 43 at Eastwood Motel, 2518 Business Loop E. Officers were alerted at about 12:45 p.m. by an anonymous CrimeStoppers tip that Williams was at the motel, Columbia police Capt. Stephen Monticelli said.

Williams

Officers went to the motel and pulled over a car leaving the area. People in the car confirmed that Williams was inside the room, Monticelli said. Several officers, some wearing tactical gear, responded with weapons drawn and surrounded the room. Police evacuated two adjacent rooms as a precaution.

Nick Johnson of Bald Knob, Ark., said he was driving back to the motel from a Laundromat when a police officer with a gun drawn yelled for him to get away from the area.

Johnson is staying at the motel while doing work for a company that paints and sandblasts water towers.

"I was pissed I couldn’t get to my room," Johnson said. "I figured it was something crazy like this because of all the cops."

A member of the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team contacted Williams by phone, and he agreed to come out of the room after making some phone calls, Monticelli said. Williams was not armed when he emerged, and he surrendered, Monticelli said.

Williams was being held this morning at the Boone County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond.

Williams earlier yesterday was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Bentley died from a gunshot wound to the head early Tuesday after a home invasion robbery at his duplex at 3610 Pimlico Drive in southeast Columbia.

Police have recovered a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun believed to be the murder weapon.

Four other suspects have been charged in connection with the robbery and shooting. Michael Jaco, 17, Denzell L. Smith, 17, and Malcolm A. Washington, 26, all of Columbia, were arrested Wednesday.

Police continue to look for a fifth suspect, 17-year-old Quiliam E. Jacobs of 1014 Elleta Blvd. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact CrimeStoppers online at 875tips.com or 874-8577.

According to court documents, another suspect has identified Williams as the gunman.

"Washington said he was upstairs in the bedroom of the victim and observed Damon Williams shoot the victim," Columbia police Detective Bryan Liebhart said in a probable cause statement filed in Boone County Circuit Court.

Another suspect, Smith, told investigators that he heard Williams say after the shooting that Williams "might have shot the guy," according to the probable cause statement.

Williams is on probation after pleading guilty to two felonies in Boone County within the past year, according to court records. In December, Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, and in April he pleaded guilty to felony receiving stolen property, according to court records. Williams received suspended prison sentences in both cases and was placed on five years supervised probation.

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