Winters Murder Suspect Surrenders After Vegas Standoff, Talking To CBS13
LAS VEGAS (CBS13) — The man accused of killing his girlfriend in Winters has surrendered after a standoff as a Las Vegas home, and called CBS13's Derek Shore.
William Gardner III entered a home on Monday night that had three people inside--two adults and a 3-year-old girl.
The standoff ended at around 12:40 a.m. PST on Tuesday.
Last month, Leslie Pinkston was sitting in a black BMW SUV at 312 Railroad Avenue near Edwards Street, when someone fired three shots into the vehicle at close range, according to Winters Police.
In the days after the shooting, it was revealed that the victim had filed a restraining order against him.
A police negotiator in Las Vegas was on the line for a significant portion of Gardner's conversation with Derek Shore earlier in the evening.
"I know that even if I tell police the full story, the full story is never going to come out," he said. "That's just how the cookies [sic] crumbles. It never comes out. Just like certain things—oh they're walking around on the roof again."
Gardner was likely referring to SWAT team members who were outside.
We spoke to both of the adults who were in the apartment with Gardner. Neither said they were being held against their will. The man left, but the woman remained in the bathroom, trying to talk Gardner down.
Shore asked if this is how he wanted to be remembered, because as Gardner spoke, he was concerned he was being misjudged.
"Those that know me, they actually know me. They know who I am; they know how good I am; they know how solid I am as an individual," he said. "You know, who don't know me, they can only speculate."
A U.S. Marshals deputy came to the newsroom just before the start of our 10 p.m. newscast.
The conversation between Derek Shore and Gardner lasted about an hour.
Gardner talked about his previous arrest which stemmed from a domestic issue involving Pinkston. He claims she got him arrested to prove a point.
"Those that know her actually know that I've been with her for over five-and-a-half years," he said. "She actually came to visit me, and over the recorded phone call visit, she also stated that she did all this just to prove a lesson to me."
Police allege that he retaliated by killing Pinkston on Nov. 18 in her car.
We wanted to get a lay of the land of what was going on inside the apartment with Gardner. Police say they were being held against their will, but he told CBS13 otherwise and put the woman who was still in their on the line. Both said she was not being held at gunpoint.
Gardner described what he was hearing from inside.
"Right now there are various police—I don't know from how many agencies—they are actually surrounding the area that I'm in. I can hear them through the wall actually," Gardner said. "There are people inside the house with me, present as well. I had those people speak out through the door to let them know I am not in here by myself."
Gardner told a man inside the apartment not to move around, concerned that a police sharpshooter might confuse that man for Gardner and shoot him.
Gardner did not say why he went to the Las Vegas home. He mentioned he did not pick his family because he knew they would come after them, and he didn't want to pick anyone he called, because he was worried they would trace his calls and find him.
CBS13 has been working with law enforcement to make sure this reaches a peaceful conclusion.
