Man on rampage attacked people with bricks, fists and a boat oar, police say
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS — The man accused of going on a bizarre spree of violence and vandalism last week appeared in court Friday to face four felony charges and seven misdemeanors.
Among the most serious of the charges filed against Dustin D. Williams, 24, of Idaho Falls are: two counts of felony aggravated battery — one for allegedly beating an elderly woman with a brick and another for allegedly attacking a different woman with a boat oar. The other felonies are for causing significant damage to two police cruisers.
Police reports also were released during the hearing. They detail a strange series of events that began with Williams seeking medical help from residents and ended with shoppers forcibly tackling Williams at Winco until police arrived to arrest him.
RELATED: Man accused of going on assault spree gets tackled by bystanders at Winco
Events on Tendoy Drive
The series of incidents began around 9 a.m. Thursday at a home on Tendoy Drive, according to court documents. Williams is said to have knocked on the door of the home yelling that he needed an ambulance because he had been poisoned. When the home’s resident opened the door, Williams fell into the threshold, quickly got up and then ran away.
The woman closed and locked the door, and Williams moved to a nearby home.
A 73-year-old woman was startled when a brick was thrown though a rear window in her home. Seeing Williams and thinking he was going to run into her house, the woman fled her residence through the front door to get help from a neighbor. Police say Williams saw her and followed her while holding a brick.
The 73-year-old woman was struck in the back of the head with the brick, and then hit repeatedly by Williams while on a front porch, according to officers. Later, police would document a great deal of blood on the porch, and significant bruising to the woman’s eyes, nose and left hand. She was diagnosed with a fractured nose and eye socket.
Police reports show Williams then fled north on Tendoy, and stole a boat oar from a home. Using the oar, he is said to have broken the front window of another home and the mirrors on several vehicles located at the residence.
When the owner came to see what was happening, she was allegedly attacked by Williams wielding the oar and struck three or four times, which broke the oar. Williams dropped the oar and fled north again.
Police reports show Williams then threw a cement planter paver through a kitchen window of another home. The vandalism startled the occupants, but did not hurt anyone.
A witness driving a Ford 150 near Winco and Idaho Thrift Ranch observed Williams moving into the grocery story parking lot while shouting about needing an ambulance and having been poisoned. She stopped to ask if he needed help, but he threw a rock through the rear passenger-side window of her pickup. No one was injured.
Williams proceeded to damage several more vehicles in the parking lot with rocks before entering Winco.
Inside Winco
Once inside the store, multiple witnesses told EastIdahoNews.com Williams continued to yell about being poisoned by a specific drug and needing an ambulance. Upon entering the produce section, he attacked a 58-year-old Winco employee, hitting the man four or five times with his fists, according to witnesses and court documents.
The employee, along with nearby customers, were able to subdue Williams until police arrived shortly after to take him into custody. Officers were nearby, having already responded to the incidents on Tendoy.
In viewer video of the incident, police are shown asking Williams why he was attacking people. He replied he had been poisoned by something he repeatedly called Methotrexate, which is an immunosuppressive drug. It’s unclear if this drug is in any way related to the incident.
He told officers he was attacking people “to get 911, I need 911,” Williams is heard saying.
In his report, Idaho Falls Police Officer C. Morgan said, “It appeared Williams was under the influence of narcotics. Williams would go from coherent and being able to tell us information to telling us that he was poisoned and saying things that did not make sense.”
The video shows Williams continued to resist arrest, and police reports show a Taser had to be deployed at a lesser setting before officers could safely place handcuffs on Williams.
Police then tried to get Williams to walk outside. He went limp, and several officers carried him out of the store by his arm and leg restraints.
The police cruisers and EIRMC
Around 10 a.m., Williams was loaded into a police cruiser to await a consultation by paramedics. He would then be taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center to be cleared to go to jail.
While waiting, court documents show Williams was able to break one of the patrol car windows, and he repeatedly got close to the broken glass. Officers decided to place additional restraints on Williams and place him in a separate cruiser.
But even that wasn’t enough.
IFPD Officer E. Lyke said during transport to EIRMC, “Dustin began twisting in my backseat and got his legs up to the window level of the rear driver’s side window … Dustin began using his legs to repeatedly hit the rear window. I gave commands for Dustin to stop kicking the window.”
Regardless, he broke the window and received some minor cuts as a result.
Officers continued the transport to EIRMC, where Williams was eventually given an injection to calm him down.
He was then booked into the Bonneville County Jail on a $250,000 bond. If convicted on all charges, Williams could face a maximum of 46 years in prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.
A complete list of charges is as follows:
- Felony Battery-Aggravated causing great bodily harm (assault with brick)
- Felony Battery-Aggravated using a deadly weapon (assault with oar)
- Felony injury to a jail (police cruiser)
- Felony injury to a jail (police cruiser)
- Misdemeanor malicious injury to property
- Misdemeanor malicious injury to property
- Misdemeanor malicious injury to property
- Misdemeanor malicious injury to property
- Misdemeanor malicious injury to property
- Misdemeanor battery (Winco employee)
- Misdemeanor petite theft (the oar)