POPULAR SAN DIEGO CHEF ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY HIDING HIS IDENTITY FOR 14 YEARS

For more than a decade, he was known to coworkers as Troy Williams — a respected chef who helped run a popular San Diego restaurant kitchen.

But authorities say the man they knew was actually Brian Anthony Williams, a fugitive wanted in Iowa in connection with a violent alleged kidnapping dating back to 2012.

Williams, 50, was arrested on October 6 at Miss B’s Coconut Club in the Mission Beach neighborhood of San Diego. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, he had spent approximately 14 years avoiding prosecution after charges were filed against him in Iowa.

Investigators allege that Williams and other individuals kidnapped and assaulted a woman in Davenport, Iowa, on October 8, 2012. Authorities say the woman was shot and left in a field. Williams was charged in connection with the case, and a separate charge was later filed alleging that he fled to avoid prosecution.

Instead of returning to face the case, authorities say he moved across the country and built a new life in California under the name “Troy Williams.” He worked at Miss B’s Coconut Club for around a decade, eventually becoming its head chef.

His coworkers were stunned when they learned his identity. The restaurant’s general manager, Eddie Jurado, told NBC 7 that they had worked together for more than 10 years and had even shared a home for a time.

Jurado said he struggled to reconcile the colleague he thought he knew with the allegations revealed by investigators.

Authorities reportedly began closing in on Williams after receiving a tip about his whereabouts. Investigators then found local media appearances featuring the chef under his assumed name, which helped them identify him.

U.S. Marshals arrested Williams without incident at the restaurant. He is being held in California while awaiting extradition to Iowa, where he faces charges including first-degree kidnapping, assault causing serious injury, conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree arson.

The allegations remain subject to the legal process, and Williams has not been convicted in the Iowa case.

For the people who worked alongside him, the arrest has raised unsettling questions about how someone could allegedly live under another identity for so long — seemingly building a successful career while a serious criminal case remained unresolved.

Sources:

PEOPLE

NBC 7 San Diego

Times of San Diego