FELLSMERE — The Fellsmere Police Department arrested a man accused of beating both his ex-girlfriend and her roommate as well as fleeing from cops and hiding in the home of a woman and her two children on Wednesday.
Fellsmere Police, with assistance from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and a Sebastian Police K-9 unit, tracked down Rashard Williams, 23, of Gifford, and placed him under arrest.
He faces two felony counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling, two misdemeanor counts of battery – one of which is domestic violence-related, and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest without violence, according to his booking report. He is currently being held in the county jail without bail pending an appearance in court.
Authorities caught up to Williams in the 60 block of S. Willow Street after a teenage boy told them he was going to get a phone for his mother. The boy pointed out his home and police arrived. They made contact with the woman, who indicated that there was a stranger in her home. Police found Williams hiding inside.
After Williams was placed into custody, the woman told investigators that the man, now identified as Williams, entered her home through an unlocked back door while she was cooking dinner.
The man asked to use her phone and she told him it was not working. He then told her that he couldn’t leave because police were searching for him, the woman told authorities. She said she kept the man talking because she feared for her children.
The manhunt started with a domestic violence altercation at the home of Williams’ former girlfriend on S. Maple Street, the Fellsmere Police Department said.
According to the report from the agency, Williams broke into the home by crawling through a window after knocking on the door didn’t elicit a response. Williams then found his former girlfriend hiding in a bedroom and began punching her in the face, police said.
Her female roommate heard the commotion and tried to intercede, according to the report, but Williams also punched her in the face. The former girlfriend’s male cousin also heard the commotion and grabbed Williams and dragged him outside.
Williams then fled the scene in a white pick-up truck driven by a female who told authorities she gave Williams a ride from Gifford to Fellsmere, according to the report.
When an officer saw the subject truck traveling on S. Willow Street, the officer attempted a traffic stop. The driver complied but Williams fled, prompting the multi-agency manhunt.
During the course of the search, authorities received a phone call from a resident in the 9200 block of S. Willow that a man was hiding near her shed and had offered her money to not call the police. That narrowed the search area, which led authorities to the teen who pointed out his home in the 60 block of S. Willow where Williams was hiding.