A well-liked San Diego head chef who turned up in local news stories under a fake name turned out to be a man wanted for 14 years in a 2012 Iowa kidnapping and shooting.
Story Highlights
- U.S. Marshals arrested Brian Anthony Williams, 50, at his Mission Beach workplace on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
- He had worked for years as head chef at Miss B’s Coconut Club under the name “Troy Williams.”
- Iowa charged him in October 2012 with kidnapping, assault, conspiracy and arson tied to an attack in which a woman was shot.
- Someone recognized him from a media interview and alerted authorities, a Marshals spokesperson said.
- He is being held for extradition, meaning a transfer back to Iowa to face the charges.
Arrest In Mission Beach Ends A 14-Year Manhunt
The arrest closed a case that had been open since Oct. 8, 2012, when, investigators say, Williams and others kidnapped a woman in northwest Davenport, Iowa, assaulted her, shot her and left her in a field. Davenport police asked the Marshals’ Southern Iowa Fugitive Task Force for help finding him. In September 2026, the Marshals got word that he was living in San Diego under an alias and working as a chef. They tracked him to a business in the 3700 block of Mission Boulevard and took him into custody without incident.
The twist is how openly he lived. According to the Marshals Service, a man believed to be Williams appeared in local publications and TV news reports under the name Troy Williams. One local profile followed his rise from line cook to head chef. In it, he talked about growing up in New York and overcoming hard times. “Kindness does win,” he told the paper. A Marshals spokesperson said someone recognized him from a media interview and tipped off authorities.
The Iowa Charges He Faces
Scott County, Iowa, charged Williams on Oct. 26, 2012, with first-degree kidnapping, willful injury causing serious injury, conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree arson. In 2013, federal prosecutors added a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. That federal charge is used when a person leaves a state to escape a criminal case, and it lets U.S. Marshals hunt for him anywhere in the country. All of the charges are accusations. He has not been convicted, and the case will be tested in an Iowa courtroom.
For years, he had been featured on Quad Cities news as a most-wanted fugitive and posted on the Marshals’ Southern Iowa web page. The Quad Cities are the river cities that straddle the Iowa-Illinois line, Davenport among them. Even so, the face on the wanted list was not tied to the chef in Mission Beach until the September 2026 tip. Williams remains in federal custody while he waits to be sent back to Iowa.
Coworkers Stunned, Marshals Unbending
Eddie Jurado, the restaurant’s general manager and Williams’ former roommate, said the news shook the staff. “He was a good guy here, loved by everybody,” Jurado told a San Diego TV station. “One minute I’m mad that he lied to us. Next minute, he was good to us…It’s actually kind of scary.” Jurado said an investigator told him to look up the name Brian Anthony Williams, and a mugshot of his head chef came up.
Ted Kamatchus, the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Iowa, said the case should be a warning to anyone who thinks running works. “This arrest is a perfect example of those who think they have bested law enforcement and evaded arrest,” he said. “Deputy U.S. Marshals remain resolute in their relentless pursuit of the most dangerous offenders in our society.” Fourteen years under a borrowed name did not end the hunt. For the woman left in that Davenport field, the case is headed back to court.
Sources:
foxnews.com, edit.usmarshals.gov, sfgate.com, kwqc.com
