A convicted sex offender, Joequarius Williams, 29, has been arrested once again, this time facing charges for an attempted murder and robbery incident taking place in the Germantown area of Nashville, the arrest informed to a Nashville.gov release. The crime occurred last Wednesday, November 5, when a 25-year-old woman was assaulted after returning from a concert. The victim identified him from a photo lineup after fingerprint evidence left at the scene led to Williams’s identification by Special Victims detectives.
Providing details on the harrowing ordeal, the suspect allegedly trailed the young woman as she was en route to her home from the Bridgestone Arena, the incident unfolding when she was accosted in the elevator of her building Williams asked her to hold the door, and once inside, he attacked her from behind stating he would kill her, this led to the victim losing consciousness briefly due to strangulation before managing to escape when the elevator doors opened. Nashville Police recovered the victim's stolen items, her keys and cellphone, that Williams discarded after the failed theft outside of the apartment complex.
Williams has had previous encounters with the law, specifically a conviction for the aggravated assault and attempted forcible rape of another woman back in 2019, a crime that prompted his registration as a sex offender and sentencing to probation. Following his latest arrest, the state is expected to file probation violation warrants against him. A judicial commissioner has set his bond at $10.1 million for the Germantown incident.
Community members and advocates for sexual assault victims are particularly shaken due to the suspect's past and the fact that, despite being on Tennessee's sex offender registry, he was back on the streets and able to commit another violent act. Nashville.gov reported that Williams’s bond has been set exceptionally high at $10.1 million.
