An alleged trespasser found inside a deceased man's house was arrested on felony burglary and drug charges Thursday evening after fighting with Garland County sheriff's deputies.
Raymond Hughes Williams, 53, who lists a Marla Marie Trail address, was taken into custody shortly before 6:30 p.m. and charged with felony counts of residential burglary, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years, and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and fleeing on foot.
Williams, who also had a warrant for failure to comply, was being held on an $11,500 bond and was set to appear Friday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 6 p.m. Thursday, sheriff's Sgt. Greg Kellar and Cpl. Matthew Cogburn responded to a residence in the 900 block of McClendon Road regarding an alleged trespasser on the property.
They spoke to a woman who said the property belonged to her deceased father and she was the executor of the estate. She said she drove by the property and saw a truck parked under the carport area so she stopped to check and noted the air conditioner unit was running.
She said she opened the door to check the house and saw a white male, later identified as Williams, "lying on the floor, smoking, and watching television." She said she asked Williams why he was there and he told her he was "buying the property due to back taxes."
When she told him she was the owner of the property and she was calling the sheriff's office, Williams allegedly "became belligerent" so at that point she left to wait for deputies to arrive.
Kellar asked Williams to come outside to talk with them, but Williams reportedly refused to open the door and told them the property owner would need to take him to court and evict him. The deputies asked the woman if she had any type of rental agreement with Williams and she said, "Not at all. I don't even know his name. Plus this property is in probate so I can't rent it out."
Williams continued to refuse to open the door and Cogburn asked him if he had any sort of rental agreement he could show them. He reportedly stated he didn't and that they had "a verbal agreement that I would fix the property and I could stay here." When asked who he had the agreement with, he said, "the lady with you guys."
He said, "She's mad because I haven't paid rent so she wants me gone." The woman again assured deputies she didn't have any kind of agreement with the man, but Williams continued to insist he did.
At that point, Cogburn searched and found an unlocked back door and after getting permission to enter from the woman, he and Kellar entered the house and saw Williams "running back and forth" between the living room and other rooms. He allegedly ignored their commands to get on the floor.
Williams allegedly attempted to barricade himself inside a bedroom, but the deputies were able to get the door open. Then he fled into another room and slammed the door. As Cogburn chased him, he struck Williams in his right calf with his baton while yelling at him to stop running.
Cogburn continued to pursue Williams as he fled through the house and they eventually ended up in a back bedroom where Williams continued to ignore the deputy's commands. Williams attempted to hide behind a door at one point, but Cogburn pulled the door away and struck Williams three times "in the meaty parts of his left calf and thigh areas."
Williams allegedly still continued to ignore the deputy's commands so Cogburn grabbed him and took him to the ground, where he continued to resist. After a brief struggle with both deputies, he was finally taken into custody.
The owner signed a search waiver for them to check the property and they allegedly found a bag beside the bedding on the floor where Williams had been which contained nine syringes and two glass pipes "used for smoking meth." They also found a white plastic case containing two more glass pipes.
Four of the syringes had a clear liquid which later tested positive for meth, approximately 1.1 gram.
Once at the detention center, Williams was asked the woman's name he had the rental agreement with and the name he gave was not the name of the woman who had found him and called deputies. When told that wasn't her name, Williams reportedly said, "Mike said I could be there."