PANAMA CITY — A Christmas Day slaying remains unsolved, although the person of interest in the case has been convicted of murder, according to records.
Wilbert “Cadillac Will” Faison, 56, was found gunned down about 1 a.m. Dec. 25, 2013, in the yard of a home on 13th Street. Police named 33-year-old Stephen Trusty as a “person of interest.” And although Trusty was convicted of second-degree murder last week for killing a man over a bicycle, Faison’s killing remains an open investigation, according to Panama City Police Department reports.
PCPD officials said they expect a resolution to the case in the near future.
Trusty was considered a person of interest in the killing of Faison at the end of December 2013. He previously lived at 511 E. 13th St. where Faison was found dead, and police suspected Trusty was present when Faison was fatally shot.
One witness said he saw Trusty and his brother, 28-year-old Michael Ray Davis, flee the area at the time of the shooting. Davis was arrested later for giving false information to officers about a phone call between Faison and himself about 30 minutes before Faison’s death.
Trusty voluntarily had come forward to talk with police after officers found his ID at the home, but he was released without charges, police said.
Officers saw Trusty on April 25 after they tried to pull him over for speeding in a 2002 yellow Lexus. An officer recognized him and the car from an arrest in March for driving without a license, but police didn’t catch him after he ran away, police reported.
“I chased him, yelling stop several times, however he failed to do so,” an officer reported. “I lost sight of Trusty between Lincoln Drive and 13th Street.”
Police did not see him again until he was arrested while heading toward Tampa in June, following 34-year-old Leonard Price’s shooting on May 28 between Carver and Lincoln drives in Panama City. Davis, his brother, previously had been identified as the shooter but was released after witnesses admitted that they incorrectly identified him.
While the death of Faison remains unsolved, Trusty was convicted last week of murder in Price’s death. He also was convicted of threatening a witness’ family after the shooting. Trusty faces life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 20.