Defendant Accepts Plea Agreement for 2021 Laundromat Murder, Scheduled for Sentencing

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Judge Paul Cucuzzella of the Baltimore City Circuit Court accepted a motion to downgrade the change for a defendant from first-degree to second-degree murder on Oct. 4.

Lamar Williams accepted a binding plea deal from the state in exchange for the modification of his charges in his indictment and future sentence.

Williams, 31, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using a handgun to commit a violent crime for the August 2021 murder of Carlos Rodriguez Amador-Funez. Williams was also charged with possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, which was later dropped based on the terms of his plea agreement.

According to the statement of facts read by the prosecutor, Williams and 21-year-old Amador-Funez were seen on Aug. 26 on surveillance video having a dispute in a laundromat. Witnesses later identified the defendant as the shooter to police.

The murder took place on the 3100 block of Pulaski Highway “over the course of 45 seconds,” said the prosecutor. The victim later died at the hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head.

Although Williams and his defense attorney William Gibbs agreed to the plea deal, Gibbs told the court that his client’s motive and culpability are “up for debate.”

Judge Cucuzzella is holding the case in sub-curia and Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30, 2023.