E. Harris Co. purse-snatching suspect denied bond as court reveals he may have followed victim

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A judge has denied bond for a man who has been charged with capital murder in connection with a robbery that left a 71-year-old woman dead outside of an east Harris County McDonald’s last month.

The judge read the charges aloud in open court Thursday morning against Andrew Williams, 40, who’s accused of stealing Martha Medina’s purse, hitting her with his car and taking off from the 400 block of Uvalde Road on Sept. 23.

Medina was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

During court proceedings Thursday, it was alleged that Williams and another person followed Medina from a Chase Bank to the McDonald’s. Authorities said GPS monitor records and surveillance video from the bank and the restaurant showed the two in action.

The other person was not identified, but was referred to as a co-defendant.

Records show Williams has a lengthy criminal history.

On the day of the deadly robbery, he was already out of jail on bond for the capital murder charge of Chima Ogbonnaya from March 2019. During that incident, Williams is accused of attempting to rob Erik Richardson and ended up killing Ogbonnaya.

Prior to that, Williams was accused of causing bodily injury to his ex-girlfriend by hitting her with a car. In 2017, he was convicted of assault-family violence, and in 2001, he was convicted of aggravated robbery, according to court documents.

As for the McDonald’s location where Medina was killed, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez referred it as a “hub of the community” where “Coffee With a Cop” events are routinely held. Those events are meant to connect residents with law enforcement.

Gonzalez also said Medina was at the restaurant by herself and parked close to the entrance. She may have also tried to get a picture of the suspect before she was hit.

“Come on! This person came to eat,” he said last month in the wake of the incident. “She had her food thrown on the floor. It breaks my heart. She’s someone’s loved one. It’s inexcusable.”

Williams’ case has been assigned to the 248th State District Court.