The family of the Leslie Pinkston is pleading with the public to help authorities track down her ex-boyfriend William Carl Gardner III who is accused of shooting and killing Pinkston Monday morning in downtown Winters, CA.
Gardner is considered armed and dangerous and along with local law enforcement, the US Marshals have joined the manhunt.
Gardner — who also goes by the alias Malik Mahammad — is described as an African-American male, about 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Heather Pinkston-McCants, Oakley, is asking that everybody share this mans photograph with anyone and everyone to help bring her aunt justice.
“I would like the public to please share this picture as far as you can. We want it to go national because he could be anywhere. He has ties to Texas, ties to New York and we want him caught,” said Pinkston-McCants. “We need to have him off the streets because he is a dangerous person. Our family needs the closure because if he is just free to walk the streets its just an injustice to her. We are not going to let this go away. We are not going to let that happen.”
Pinkston-McCants stated that this murder shouldn’t have happened as her aunt did everything within the law to keep Gardner away from her—including a restraining order through April 2014.
According to the family, Gardner had legal problems in Sacramento County along with Yolo County. He was also sentenced to a yearlong county jail sentence in May which had little jail time.
Gardner had also recently been in custody at the Yola County Jail from October 22 to Nov. 15 where he posted bail three days before the shooting. According to the family, Leslie Pinston was not made aware he was released.
In fact, Pinkston was going to testify against Gardner on Dec. 9. after a protective order was issued against Gardner earlier this year for stalking and threatening her. He had been arrested previously for auto theft, domestic violence and criminal threats, and other crimes.
“This shouldn’t have happened. This guy threatened to kill her and nobody through that he was serious about it and now we know he was,” said Pinkston-McCants
She encourages anyone who is being harassed or fearful of someone to speak up. She encourages you not to let the stigma prevent you from getting the help and protection you need.
“If you are being harassed take it seriously because you don’t know crazy. Our laws do not protect the people who are being abused,” said Pinkston-McCants.
Her goal now is to go through the grieving process and help honor her aunts memory and ensure her daughter, age 6, is cared for.
“This loss is devastating to this family. He (Gardner) did more than take her away, he took away our holidays as Thanksgiving and Christmas will be marked by her death. He stole that from us, its senseless,” said Pinkston-McCants.
She further stated that Leslie Pinkston was in the prime of her life raising her six-year-old daughter and said its cruel to put that fate on a six-year-old.
“Leslie was an incredible mother, she was fantastic. She could not have been a better mother to her daughter.She was a loyal friend, hilariously funny, and beautiful. She was beautiful. It doesn’t even touch the surface of who she was. She would do anything to protect her family and she was doing that when she met her fate,” explained Pinkston-McCants.
Memorial fund:
A fund as been established at First Northern Bank of Winters (530) 795-4501 and ask to donate to Leslie Pinkston Memorial Fund.
Winters Police Department Press Release:
** PRESS RELEASE UPDATE *** 11/19/13 Winters Police Department
CONTACT: Name: Sergio Gutierrez, Chief of Police
Phone: (530) 795-2261 Dispatch: (530) 795-4561November 19, 2013 MURDER INVESTIGATION – UPDATE
The Winters Police Department is continuing the investigation and search for William Gardner. He is still at large and considered armed and dangerous. A warrant of arrest for William Gardner …was obtained on Monday – November 18th for the murder of Leslie Pinkston.
He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and tan pants fleeing in a tan older model van.
We are asking the public to immediately report any information on William Gardner’s whereabouts to their local law enforcement agency. He is known to reside in the Sacramento area. Anyone who may have witnessed or has information about the shooting is urged to contact the Winters Police Department at (530) 795-4561.
SUSPECT:
William Carl Gardner III, age 30.
He is descibred as a black male, 5-10, 186 lbs, last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, tan pants with side pockets.
26 comments
Please help this family in finding this man and I pray he doesn’t hurt anyone else.
Looks like to me that the system failed this family. I hope the family is allowed 15-minutes with him without anyone to witness what they do to him.
How did the system fail the family? A restraining order isn’t going to stop a murderer from killing their target. She failed her family by shacking up with a loser with a long, violent criminal history.
What was she doing being with this guy in the first place?
It doesnt matter if she was with him officially or not. this man took her life! We should not be judging the victim here!!! Find this sick son of a bitch and bring justice to this young woman her child and her family!
It definitely does matter that she chose a violent criminal as her mate. You don’t climb into a cage with a bunch of lions
If you read the report sevens77, she wasn’t aware he had been released.
Sad for the family.. It would be fair to note, the California restrictions to decent, law abiding citizens to maintain arms necessary for self defense seems a bit misplaced at this point. Guns are not our enemy, criminals like this are. Why do we keep making laws against firearms, rather than empowering the people to protect themselves as the US Constitution provides..
CA. Laws.
10 day wait time to get firearm.
10 rd restriction on magazine capacity.
Concealed Carry are rarely issued/ if at all.
Carrying openly in public is illegal.
A temporary restraining order is a piece of paper. It is an order of the court. Since criminals don’t follow laws, it is worthless.
A piece of paper won’t stop a criminal.
A call to the Police won’t stop the criminal.
Does anyone rationally think that Gun Control when imposed on a law abiding public is going to result in anything but more carnage, deaths at the hands of criminals our state is either unwilling, incompetent, or unable to protect us from persons like this.. Well, the Constitution is clear about it.. But the dead victims of gun related crimes never get the chance to complain or communicate that a weapon (disallowed) by the state would have been the best tool to prevent the crime and their subsequent murder..
Maybe someday, we will grow up and stop relying on a state that has no interest in us besides the tax revenue we bring to them..
There is strength in numbers! If everyone donates to the reward, maybe someone who knows his whereabouts will turn him in. God bless her loved ones!!!
My condolences to the family.
The reward has been increased to $85,000.00.
Hey Will, we know you are reading this….Guess what??? You will be caught…then when you are in Sac county for 2 years waiting for your federal trial you will probably be beaten like a pinata til they inject you or fry your brain. You a big old pimp now huh? Killing a female??? A mother of a child. You are not a pimp, just a half retarded low self esteemed wanna be pimp. We knew you when you were young when you used to be around young Dave and in the Howe and Hurley area. The cuddies are lookin for you when you get to federal holding in Sac county. You better start working out or just kill yourself off now because when you get what is coming it will not be as fast as you took Leslie’s life. No pimps in protective custody.
The cuddies on the block said you are slow and there is something wrong with your brain. I can tell just by looking at your cross eyed ass. Plus your eyes are too close together… Obviously there is something wrong with you. Pimps don’t kill women, they just move on to the next. You are a sick and twisted waste of flesh. Leslie was cheating on you since she met you. You are the sucker.
You are a wanna be and you are going to get it in the booty you wanna be pimp. People know where you are…..If any young female messes with you she will get it too……Should of thought this through a little more than you did. Like they wouldn’t know it was you who did it.
MOB
@GPARKWAYMOB – Very well said! This dude is more than a POS who took the life of one my bestest friends… You robbed the a beautiful lil girl of her mother! But don’t get it twisted… That lil girl is strong, stronger than you can ever dream of being. Ya know why??? Cuz she don’t got your nasty ass blood in her! You are NOT her father! You just a weirdo who couldn’t take the fact Les didn’t want you no more! On some Fatal Attraction type sh*t.
When the feds do find this pathetic excuse for a “Man”, I hope they put him where Les’ real baby daddy is!!!
when he gets caught he will go to jail with the other 80% black male bucks so he will be right at home and lucky tax payers get to pay for it for the rest of its life
typical male buck and its too bad none of these coalburners out there will take this as an example
Coal burners always get beaten & killed by their bucks, when will they learn. Once you go black you can’t go back or you will end up dead.
Ah, another coal burner bites the dust.
Her family should have taught her better
Wow a human being just lost a life, and a family lost a member and there are people on here being racist??? Grow and find God!!! I pray for this family, as well as the souls of these misinformed people… God Bless you all!!!
You say that like it’s a bad thing. If the victim had been “racist,” she’d still be alive.
People are being racist because blacks are the elephant in the room that everyone is scared to talk about!
Black men are a whopping TWENTY-SEVEN times more likely to assault their white spouse than any other interracial combination. She was a fool for shacking up with a black and paid the price.
You’re missing the point… These “people” are people, no race just humans… Whites, Blacks, Asians, Mexicans, it doesn’t matter, if humans were raised the right way to begin with, we would have more Love in this world… But we are taught to hate, GOD Loves us all!!! And breaking it down on a sub-level and talking “races” even if you were statically correct about you’re statement, you would still be partially correct based off of your geological location because of the predominant ethnicity surroundings… It’s time to stop the fights and animosity between ourselves as human-beings and unite as children of GOD!!! God Bless!!!
And women, PLEASE make better life choices, so you don’t wind up dead, like Leslie.
To all of you who have sent your thoughts,condolences and prayers to our family in this time of unthinkable loss, thank you.
To the others who spread their message of hate, I will pray for your souls and prAy that never you experience losing a loved one in such a violent manner.
Do I want to blame race here? Ya, but that that is the chicken shit easy to justify it. Race had nothing to do with this. Domestic violence did. Plain and simple.
And for those who said we should have taught her better…..fuck you. You have no idea what you are talking about.
Very well said. Sorry for your loss.
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