California man with extensive criminal history released early; Arrested on new murder charge
Byron Floyd
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - A man with an extensive criminal history who was released early from prison has been arrested on a new murder charge.
Byron Floyd, 58, was arrested on Monday in connection with the Sept. 1 shooting death of Fredrick Williams, 43, in San Bernardino. Officers found Floyd to be in possession of a loaded firearm. He was placed under arrest for weapons violations and was transported to the San Bernardino Police Department where he was interviewed by homicide detectives. Based on statements he provided to detectives, Floyd was placed under arrest for the murder of Williams and booked into a local jail facility.
Williams was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest in the alley near the 1200 block of North Wall Avenue. He died at the hospital shortly thereafter.
Police said that surveillance video showed the suspect clearly armed with a firearm in the area of the victim. That, coupled with additional information provided by witnesses, homicide detectives were able to find identifying facts that confirmed Floyd was the suspect.
Detectives learned that Floyd had an extensive criminal history. This history included two arrests for murder, with a conviction of manslaughter and murder in both 1983 and 1993. Floyd’s 1993 conviction was a sentence of 23 years; however, he was released after serving approximately 50% of that time. He was later sent to prison in 2005 for drug charges. In 2017, he possessed PCP and cocaine for sales, a felon in possession of a firearm and gang enhancement where he was sentenced to serve 9 years. He was scheduled to be released in 2026 but was released early, according to the SBPD.
The reason for his early release was not immediately available.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Detective J. Alvarez at alvarez_jo@sbcity.org / 909-388-4935 or Sergeant J. Plummer at plummer_jo@sbcity.org / 909-384-5613.