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Mother Of Cantonment Murder Suspect Charged With Helping Him Flee
May 2, 2026
An Alabama woman is being charged with helping her son flee following a mid-April murder in Cantonment.
Sonya Nicole Cross-McAdoo is charged with accessory to murder after the fact. She’s currently in the Montgomery County (AL) Jail on a parole violation charge and awaiting extradition back to Escambia County.
Her son, 29-year old Devaughn Kentrell Williamson is accused of shooting Tyshawn McDowell in the chest during an incident at a residence on Booker Lane. He was located on April 17 at a bus stop in Phoenix with a bus ticket in his pocket for El Paso, Texas. He remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond charged with homicide.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said she traveled to Escambia County after the shooting, picked up Williamson and drove him back to Montgomery. He then traveled to Houston and then Arizona and had a bus ticket in his possession when he was arrested in Phoenix with the assistance of a U.S. Marshals Task Force.
“We believe that she knew what had occurred,” Simmons said. “She knew that her son was wanted. She knew what her son had done, and she obviously was accessory to murder after the fact.”
First Report
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, deputies responding to a deadly missiles call on Booker Lane on March 4, 2026, discovered blood and shell casings at the scene, along with a bloody firearm discarded in a nearby wooded area.
After deputies spoke with the reporting person, they first developed Williamson as the possible victim and were unable to locate him. On March 6 at 8:30 a.m., Williamson was located at Carver Park on Webb Street and he told deputies that he was fine and elected to leave after a fight with his girlfriend, according to the report. He also told deputies that he had no knowledge of anything occurring, and that it had nothing to do with him.
Victim Reported Missing
At 1 p.m on March 6, Tyshawn McDowell was reported missing by his mother who told deputies that family members had attempted unsuccessfully to contact him. She told deputies that McDowell was last known to be going to meet with Williamson because Williamson’s twin brother owed him approximately $20,000 from a winning sports bet.
McDowell’s brother received a Facebook call from someone wishing to remain anonymous and stating that McDowell had been shot and was dead, the report continues.
GPS Tracker and Bloody Palmprint
A GPS tracker placed by an automotive company was used to locate McDowell’s 2016 Nissan Altima on Greek Cemetery Road east of Robertsdale, Alabama. Investigators located the vehicle on the side of the road and observed blood inside and outside the car. Florida deputies learned the vehicle had previously been stopped by a Baldwin County deputy, and Williamson was the driver and sole occupant. The Alabama deputy noted money scattered around the floorboard in the car.
Also on March 6, investigators determined that palm prints on the bloody weapon’s magazine belonged to Williamson.
Victim’s Phone Data Leads To His Body
ECSO obtained geolocation records for McDowell’s phone, tracing its path from Booker Lane in Cantonment, along Highway 112 in Baldwin County where the phone was stationary for 15 minutes before moving back to Pensacola. Based upon the cellular data from the victim’s phone, investigators conducted a search and located McDowell’s body in a secluded wooded area just north of Highway 112 near Goodlander Road. He had a single gunshot wound to the chest.
An arrest warrant for second degree murder was obtained for Williamson.
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