Local News

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― The Broward man who cut a deal with prosecutors in the beating of three homeless men took the stand Monday with incriminating evidence against his co-defendants.

William "Billy" Ammons, 21, pleaded guilty in May to third-degree murder and aggravated battery in exchange for a 10 to 20-year prison sentence. He also agreed to testify against Brian Hooks and Thomas Daugherty, the two young men now on trial for the brutal beatings of the three homeless men. One of the men was beaten so severely, he died from his injuries.

On the stand Monday, Ammons described how he jumped in when Hooks started beating Norris Gaynor with a baseball bat when they attacked him on a park bench in Esplanade Park. 

"As soon as he raised the bat up and I knew he was going to hit him," Ammons testified. "I started firing my paint ball gun. I probably fired it 5 to 10 times cause it fires real fast. So I fired that and while I was firing, he (Hooks) brought the bat down and hit the guy in the head."

Gaynor died of the injuries he sustained in the attack.

Billy testified they giggled after Hooks and Daugherty beat Jaques Pierre–that all of them were drunk and stoned as they prowled around Fort Lauderdale looking for "bums" to beat up. 

"We were pretty much laughing and giggling," said Ammons.

That's when he says they found Gaynor sleeping on a park bench. Ammons says he grabbed his paintball gun – because he wanted to take part too.

"I felt like I wasn't doing anything and did not want to be perceived as a woos for not participating.

Last week the jury heard from one of the state's key witnesses, Joey Griffith, who testified about the night his former friends, Daugherty and Hooks, went on their violent rampage. Griffith held up a baseball bat in court, in order to recreate the beating that occurred allegedly at the hands of his friends.

Daugherty and Hooks are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder for their roles in the January 12, 2006 beatings.

Griffith was with Daugherty and Hooks during two of the attacks but was not charged. Prosecutors say he did not take part in the beatings and went home scared after the fatal attack on Gaynor.

Griffith told the jury he and his friends were driving around, smoking marijuana, when one of them suggested they "go beat up some bums."

Gloria Gaynor, mother of dead victim Norris Gaynor, spoke to CBS4's Joan Murray, reminding everyone that many of the homeless on our streets have families who keep them in their thoughts every day, and even keep in touch with them.

"He called me for birthdays, and Mothers Day," said Gaynor. "He was going to make sure I heard his voice on these days, and Christmas, just to say 'I love you.'"

Gaynor learned after her son's death that he cared too much to tell her how life was going for him.

"He wouldn't tell me things; he would call his sister and talk," said Gaynor. "And a lot of things about him was coming out at the trial now, I didn't even know."

The two men who survived the beatings have already testified. The first attack was on 60-year old Jacques Pierre, who was beaten outside Florida Atlantic University in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It was the attack seen around the world because it was captured on surveillance video. That video, already shown to the jury, is a key piece of evidence.

The second attack took place in Esplanade Park.

The final attack was on 52-year old Raymond Perez outside the Church-by-the Sea.

Prosecutors say Daugherty and Hooks were high on Xanax, vodka and marijuana when they went out to beat up homeless people but their lawyer says they had no desire to kill or cause serious harm.

Daugherty and Hooks could face life in prison if convicted.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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