Fugitive Brian Anthony Williams was discovered living in San Diego under the name “Troy Williams,” where he worked as a chef and appeared in news interviews.
SAN DIEGO — A man wanted in Iowa was arrested after 14 years when federal authorities located him working as a chef in San Diego under an assumed identity.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested 50-year-old Brian Anthony Williams on Tuesday at the Mission Beach restaurant where he worked. Authorities allege that Williams and several others kidnapped, assaulted and shot a woman in Davenport, Iowa, in 2012.
The U.S. Marshals Service said law enforcement learned in September 2026 that Williams was living in San Diego as “Troy Williams.” He had been working as a chef and appearing under that name in local publications and on television.
Williams was charged in October 2012 with first-degree kidnapping, assault causing serious injury, conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree arson. The following year, prosecutors also charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
According to authorities, Williams and a woman were bound with duct tape and abducted from their home in Davenport. The woman later told deputies that she and Williams were taken to a field, where they were assaulted and shot at before being abandoned in a ditch.
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The victim told police she believed the suspects had taken Williams with them when they left her behind. Officers found Williams a short time later with duct tape still on him, but he did not appear to be injured. Investigators ultimately determined that Williams had allegedly conspired with three other men to stage the abduction because he wanted to end his relationship with the woman.
Police also alleged that Williams and the three other suspects went to the home of the victim’s new boyfriend, poured several gallons of gasoline around the property and set it ablaze. All five people inside escaped without injuries.
In February, Beach & Bay Press featured Williams under his assumed name in a Black History Month article. In the story, he said he grew up in New York City public housing “during the crack epidemic” and was largely raised by his aunt after his mother died when he was young. The article prominently displayed his photograph and identified the San Diego restaurant where he worked as a chef.
Williams will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service while he awaits extradition to Iowa, the agency said.
In August 2013, a jury convicted one of the other alleged conspirators, Jeremy Garvin, of kidnapping, arson, willful injury and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony.