Kelso murder suspect caught in Camas

A police hunt for a murder suspect accused of killing a Kelso convenience store employee during a robbery, ended in Camas Wednesday evening.

Law enforcement officers from the Kelso, Camas and Vancouver police departments, as well as the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, discovered D’Anthony Leslie Williams in Camas around 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23.

Williams, 19, has been charged with murder and robbery in the first degree in connection with an early morning robbery and shooting at the Holt’s Quik Chek Market, in Kelso, Washington, which police said occurred shortly after 4 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Police say Williams robbed the convenience store and then shot and killed the clerk, 30-year-old Kayla Chapman.

Kelso Police Captain Darr Kirk held a press conference Tuesday and said Chapman, the only person working in the store during the robbery, was able to call for help despite being gravely injured.

“Given her wounds, it was remarkable that she was able to call 911,” Kirk said.

Police took Williams into custody Wednesday without incident and booked him into the Cowlitz County Jail. He is being held without bail until his arraignment date.
Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Vancouver police officers located the suspect’s vehicle, which they say Williams had stolen on an earlier date, in Vancouver.

Police say there were at least two other people in the suspect’s vehicle and urge them — or anyone who has information pertaining to the case — to call the Kelso Police Department at 360-423-1270.