GRANTS, N.M. — A week after the dramatic arrest of Billy Wayne Williams in the Walmart parking lot, the investigation remains active, with few public updates from federal or state authorities.
Williams, 46, was the subject of a Blue Alert issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after a Webbers Falls Police Department officer was shot during a routine traffic stop on March 16 in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. The officer, who has not been publicly named, was taken to a nearby hospital and is reportedly in stable condition. Williams fled the scene in a white Nissan Altima, prompting a multi-state search.
The next morning, March 17, at 7:42 a.m., Grants Police were alerted by their Flock Safety License Plate Reader system that the suspect’s vehicle had entered city limits. Officers quickly tracked the car to the Walmart parking lot, where Williams was found sitting inside.
According to scanner traffic monitored by the Cibola Citizen, law enforcement staged in the area and called in reinforcements from the Milan Police Department, Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, and New Mexico State Police. Shortly after 8 a.m., emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene but were ordered to stage nearby until the situation was declared secure.
As police attempted to make contact, a single gunshot was heard.
Williams had shot himself in what authorities described as a self-inflicted wound. Officers approached, secured the scene, and EMS responded. Williams was initially transported to Cibola General Hospital before being transferred to a hospital in Albuquerque. His condition at last report was critical but stable.
Authorities have since confirmed that custody of Williams has been transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is coordinating with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OBI) and local agencies in both states. However, the FBI has not released new information about the case or Williams’ condition.
According to the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, Williams is 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighs approximately 380 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes. He was considered armed and extremely dangerous at the time of the alert, with an active $1,000,000 bond warrant for his arrest.
The FBI has not indicated when more details will be available.