VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — At first, the family of Antonio Cameron couldn’t believe that his longtime friend Leander Williams had shot and killed him.

Then they couldn’t believe Williams was allowed to go free on the second day of his murder trial.

Now, they can’t believe that the prosecutor who botched the case is back.

“I am definitely angry with the prosecution,” said Brenda Tate, Cameron’s mother.

Cameron and Williams were friends for more than 30 years. They would typically meet at a “clubhouse,” a smaller house in the rear of a residence on Connie Lane.

In May 2016, the two men got into an argument and then a fight. Family members say at one point Williams was on top of Cameron, and then the tables turned and Cameron was on top. At least eight others were present at the clubhouse, including Cameron’s brother Travis.

Cameron’s mother Brenda Tate said her son was letting Williams get up, when Williams pulled a gun and shot Cameron, and then shot him again. Cameron died at the hospital.

“They said Tony got shot, and I said you’re kidding me.”

Police arrested Williams less than a day later. They say he admitted to shooting his friend in self-defense.

Williams went on trial for second-degree murder in March. On day one, the court seated a jury and the prosecution began its case, interviewing several witnesses.

But on the second day, one of the two prosecutors handling the case got sick. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Scott Vachris intervened, advising the remaining prosecutor to ask for a continuance or a mistrial. The judge denied both.

The Commonwealth then made a major mistake – it moved to nolle prosequi the charges against Williams. Typically, this enables prosecutors to pursue the case at a later date. But the trial for Williams was already underway. He could not face double jeopardy for the same crime, and the judge ended the trial.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle fired Vachris, apologizing that his office had mismanaged the case.

Since then, Stolle has rehired Vachris, although in a reduced role that will be seven grades lower on the office’s pay scale.

“(Williams) gets to walk, and the prosecutor gets his job back,” Tate said. “So the only one really suffering is the family of my son, just me and my family, just reliving it again.”

Stolle gave 10 On Your Side this statement regarding Vachris:

“I stand by my decision to fire Mr. Vachris based on the mishandling of a murder trial in early 2018; however, as I stated at the time that he was an excellent prosecutor and had a great reputation for over 20 years. I view these as two separate personnel issues.  At this time I believe it’s appropriate to bring Mr. Vachris back to the office in a non-management position that is seven (7) paygrades lower than when he left.  He will be going to the DUI prosecutions team.”