A man charged with fatally shooting Anthony Lashawn Williams last summer in Norwich appeared in court Tuesday morning in New London.

Phillip C. Wise, 40, whose last known address was 37 Lake St., appeared virtually in court before Judge Hillary B. Strackbein. The judge scheduled a judicial pretrial hearing in his case for June 1.

Wise allegedly shot Williams on Lake Street about 4:30 p.m. on July 21, 2020, after the two got into an argument.

Wise was arraigned in Norwich Superior Court in February after being arrested on a warrant and extradited from North Carolina. He is charged with murder in the death of 39-year-old Williams.

Emotions were high during Wise's arraignment when Williams' mother, Phyllisha Williams, broke down in tears over her son's death. She sat in the courtroom again on Tuesday and cried out "he's a murderer, he's a murderer" while Wise was visible on a screen.

After the hearing, Williams said she wants the maximum sentence for Wise if he is convicted. She said she's worried that justice won't be served for her son.

"I'm so nervous that he's going to try to take the lightest (sentence) but I want the max for him," she said outside the courthouse. "He killed my son, he was like a family member and I trusted him. And then for him to go and kill my son like that, I'm not going to settle for lower than the max."

Williams said Tuesday that Wise and her son were close friends and that she and the rest of her family treated Wise like a member of their family. She said that when her son first brought him over, her heart went out to him because his own mother had died, so she welcomed him into her home.

She said that she took Wise out to dinners, her son shared clothes with him, and they all shared laughs together. She said her son trusted Wise.

"And then as my son was walking away he shot him," she said. "I'm lost for words."

Williams said she hopes justice is served and that the community is kept safe from Wise, who has a criminal background that includes charges of assault and sexual assault.

"He's a murderer and he shouldn't be on the streets," she said.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Williams spoke to Wise on Lake Street just hours after he was released from prison. The two argued while Wise was sitting in a car, and Williams walked away. As he was walking away, Wise allegedly got out of a vehicle and shot him. He then stood over Williams, who was bleeding from a gunshot wound to his torso as he asked his friend not to shoot him again, according to the warrant.

Williams was taken to Backus Hospital by his fiancé and was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Wise is being held in lieu of $2 million.

t.hartz@theday.com