A judge set a bond Monday for a Winston-Salem man charged with first-degree murder and denied a request from his mother, a co-defendant in the case, to lower her bond.
Judge Lamont Wiggins of Forsyth Superior Court set a $600,000 bond for Reginald Anthony Williams, 27, of Verdun Street, after a brief hearing on Williams’ request for a bond.
Williams has been held in the Forsyth County Jail since April 2022 with no bond allowed after he was charged with murder in the death of Arthur Little, 52, of Winston-Salem.
In an earlier hearing, Wiggins denied a request from Tjwana Jean Baldwin, 43, of Bedford Street in Winston-Salem, to lower her bond from $600,000 to $100,000. Tjwana Baldwin also is charged with first-degree murder in Little’s death.
Little sustained a gunshot wound while he was inside the Fish Hut Arcade, 3500 S. Main St., on April 13, 2022, Winston-Salem police said at that time.
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In Baldwin’s hearing, prosecutor Penn Broyhill urged Wiggins to keep Baldwin’s bond at $600,000.
Inside the Fish Hut Arcade
Little’s killing “is an unique case,” Broyhill said, because video surveillance captured most of the events that led to Little’s death.
Little entered the Fish Hut Arcade and played games there, Broyhill said. The Fish Hut was formerly a sweepstakes business where people played games to win money.
The business is permanently closed, according to its Facebook page.
At some point, Little and Baldwin argued over money that Little said he was owed by the business, Broyhill said.
Baldwin called Williams and her daughter to come to the arcade, Broyhill said. A manager gave Little the money that he said he was owed.
After Williams arrived at the business, his mother directed him toward Little who was seated and holding his money, Broyhill said. Williams then approached Little and snatched the money from Little’s hand, Broyhill said.
A fight ensued between the men, Broyhill said, and Little revealed a gun and shot Williams once through his leg. Williams and Little continued to tussle.
After Williams was shot, Baldwin then shot Little in his back, Broyhill said.
Little and the money fell to the floor, and Nautica Shanice Baldwin, Tjwana Baldwin’s daughter, recovered the money, the prosecutor said.
Nautica Baldwin, 28, of Bedford Street, is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to arrest warrant. Nautica Baldwin is accused of stealing $420 from Little by threatening Little with Tjwana Baldwin’s handgun, the warrant said.
Nautica Baldwin has been released from custody after she posted a $25,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear Sept. 20 in Forsyth Superior Court.
When police arrived at the arcade at 4:39 p.m. on April 13, 2022, they found Little unresponsive. Emergency medical technicians pronounced him dead at the scene.
Earlier at the arcade, Little, a convicted felon, illegally possessed a gun, Broyhill said. However, Little fired at Williams because “he was protecting himself while he was being beaten up by a younger man,” Broyhill said.
Tjwana Baldwin’s actions led to Little’s death, Broyhill said.
“The video shows that the defendant supplied the gasoline that lit the match that caused all of this to happen,” Broyhill said.
Response from defense
Jerry Jordan, Williams’ attorney, told the judge that he and his client disagreed with some facts that Broyhill provided to Wiggins.
It’s unclear from the video surveillance whether Little was holding the money in his hand or whether he took the money from his pocket, Jordan said.
During the fight, the money fell to the floor as the fight between Williams and Little continued. Tjwana Baldwin then shot Little in his back, Jordan said.
“My client is sitting in jail without bond, and he’s the one who got shot,” Jordan told Wiggins.
Williams’ mother and Little both had guns, and Baldwin fired at Little, Jordan said.
After Jordan’s statements, Wiggins set Williams’ bond at $600,000.
Charlene Nelson, Tjwana Baldwin’s attorney and assistant capital defender, told Wiggins that she disagreed with Broyhill’s version of the events.
Nelson said that her client had worked at the Fish Hut for four years before the shooting. Little was a patron at the arcade, where there was sign that said that patrons were not allowed to possess guns, but employees were permitted to do so, Nelson said.
A dispute developed between Baldwin and Little, and then a fight started between Little and Williams, Nelson said. Little then shot Williams in the leg, and the men continued to tussle.
Williams was trying to prevent Little from shooting him again, Nelson said. Baldwin then shot Little “after he shot her son,” Nelson said.
Her client has been overcharged in this case by prosecutors, Nelson said.
In his ruling, Wiggins denied Baldwin’s request to lower her bond to $100,000. The judge said that the $600,000 bond was fair and sufficient for the charge against Baldwin.
Tjwana Baldwin and Williams were being held Monday in the Forsyth County Jail with their bonds each set at $600,000, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said.