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San Diego Chef Arrested After 14 Years on the Run in Iowa Kidnapping and Shooting Case
ReSan Diego Chef Arrested After 14 Years on the Run in Iowa Kidnapping and Shooting Case
Brian Anthony Williams, 50, was arrested at a Mission Beach restaurant where he had worked for eight years under a false name, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
A fugitive wanted for nearly 14 years in the kidnapping and shooting of an Iowa woman was arrested Tuesday at a San Diego restaurant where he had been living under a false identity and working as a popular chef, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Brian Anthony Williams, 50, was taken into custody without incident at Miss B's Coconut Club in the Mission Beach neighborhood, where he had been employed for more than eight years under the name «Troy Williams.» He had been wanted since 2012 in connection with the alleged kidnapping, assault and shooting of a woman in northwest Davenport, Iowa.
According to authorities, Williams and several others allegedly kidnapped and assaulted the woman before shooting her and abandoning her in a field. He was charged with first-degree kidnapping, assault causing serious injury, conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree arson. Federal authorities later added a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Williams had built a new life in San Diego, rising from line cook to head chef at the restaurant, according to a February profile published by the Times of San Diego. In that interview, he discussed growing up in New York, overcoming adversity and the importance of treating others with kindness. «Togetherness is how we get better,» he told the outlet. «Kindness does win.»
But those public appearances may have ultimately led to his capture. A U.S. Marshals spokesperson said someone recognized Williams from a media interview and alerted authorities, prompting investigators to track him to the restaurant. Federal agents had developed information in September that Williams was living in San Diego under an assumed identity, ultimately locating him at a business in the 3700 block of Mission Boulevard.
Eddie Jurado, the restaurant's general manager and Williams' former roommate, told FOX 5 in San Diego that employees were stunned to learn the man they knew as Troy was wanted in connection with a violent crime nearly 2,000 miles away. «Like, who is he? He was a good guy here, loved by everybody,» Jurado said.
Jurado also expressed compassion for the woman allegedly attacked in Iowa nearly 14 years ago. «It's a mixed emotion,» he said. «One minute I'm mad that he lied to us. Next minute, he was good to us…It's actually kind of scary.»
U.S. Marshal Ted Kamatchus said the arrest demonstrates that fugitives cannot outrun the law indefinitely. «This arrest is a perfect example of those who think they have bested law enforcement and evaded arrest,» he said.
Williams remains in federal custody pending extradition to Iowa, where he faces prosecution in connection with the 2012 attack. The U.S. Marshals Service and management at Miss B's Coconut Club were contacted for comment. The case highlights how a fugitive can evade capture for years by assuming a new identity, only to be undone by the visibility that comes with public recognition.
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