Man suspected of two-year crime spree now in jail

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

A fugitive who officials said eluded capture for two years crashed his vehicle Thursday morning trying to flee U.S. Marshals in the township.

Richard D. Williams, 26, is in the Mahoning County jail after his apprehension at the Sleep Inn along Interstate Boulevard.

He’s charged by police with several firearm assaults, carrying concealed weapons, shooting a firearm within city limits, failing to comply with police orders, aggravated menacing and various fraud- and drug-related charges.

He could also face charges of assaulting a peace officer along with other federal charges, authorities said.

Authorities have been seeking Williams since September 2016, said Glen Riddle, an officer with the U.S. Marshals’ Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force. “He was on the top of our list,” he said. “It’s a relief to have him in custody.”

Riddle said marshals learned Williams was staying at the hotel Thursday morning.

Williams attempted to flee in his vehicle as officers were organizing, but he ultimately struck another vehicle, which deployed his car’s airbags.

Officers arrested Williams and found he was carrying a loaded handgun and an amount of suspected heroin, Riddle said.

Williams is suspected of leading police on several high-speed chases, Riddle said.

According to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, Williams is the brother of Ricki D. Williams IV, who was sentenced in February to 62 years in prison for the 2014 murder of Gina Burger in Austintown.