CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Christopher Clark, convicted of the 2022 murder of a 55-year-old Walmart employee, was given a life-in-prison sentence in court Wednesday morning.
At around 11:54 p.m. on the night of March 1, 2022, Clarksville Police responded to shots fired at the Walmart Supercenter on Fort Campbell Boulevard. They found 55-year-old William “Billy” Eakes Jr., a Walmart maintenance employee, lying on the ground at the entrance, unresponsive. Eakes died from his injuries.
Officers determined through eyewitnesses and security camera footage that a man had entered the store after hours and grabbed a drink and bag of chips before leaving. Eakes was seen following the man, who turned and shot him over 10 times before fleeing. Clark, 44, was found in the woods behind Planet Fitness nearby, apprehended and charged with first-degree murder.
On Feb. 28, 2024, Clark was convicted of first-degree murder.
‘He would have fed him if he was hungry’
Emma Nafe, Eakes’ daughter, gave an emotional victim impact statement about the loss of her father, describing him as a hardworking man who never left his family needing.
“He would have fed him if he was hungry. He’d have given him the shirt off his back if that’s what it took,” said Nafe.
When asked how the loss of her father impacted her family, Nafe said Clark took two people from her when he killed her dad. Her mother died of a broken heart one month after Eakes, who had been her primary caregiver for 10 years.
“This has been a nightmare, and because of this, I have neither parent,” Nafe testified. “He essentially took both my parents.”
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District Attorney General Robert Nash said Clark was a dangerous individual who was on probation at the time of the murder. The state referred to the security video of the murder and asked for a sentence of life in prison, plus a sentence of 30 years for possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
“That’s what we saw in the video, and that’s exactly what is deserved based on Mr. Clark’s actions and his criminal history,” said Nash.
‘Life itself does it’
Clark’s attorney, Gregory Smith, told the judge that the 30-year addition was unnecessary, saying, “If what the daughter asked for is granted, that he never walks out of prison, life itself does it.”
Smith said that an average white male’s life expectancy was about 77, and he mentioned that studies place the number lower for those incarcerated. After a life sentence, Clark would be 95 when released.
“If you run everything concurrent to each other, you still got 51 years day-for-day, which exceeds his expected lifetime by about two decades,” said Smith.
Consecutive sentences
Judge William Goodman described the case as chilling and acknowledged that the court could never reverse the difficulty that Nafe’s family had faced.
Clark had previously been convicted six times: in 1999, 2000 and 2021. The offenses included aggravated assault, aggravated burglary and reckless endangerment by the use of a deadly weapon. With this in mind, and Nafe’s impact statement, Goodman deemed Clark a range three offender and imposed a life sentence plus 25 years.
Several of his charges will run concurrent and consecutively, adding up to a 76-year sentence:
- First-degree murder: Mandatory life sentence (51 years)
- First-degree murder in perpetration: Merged with count one
- Burglary: 10 years, served concurrently with life
- Theft of Property: 11 months 29 days, served concurrently with life
- Possession of a weapon by a convicted felon: 25 years, served consecutive to life sentence
- Possession of a weapon with a felony drug offense: 12 years, served concurrently with count five
With Clark’s current age, and the 76-year prison sentence, he would be eligible for parole at 120 years old.
Jordan Renfro contributed to this article.
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