SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A man wanted in an Iowa kidnapping case was arrested in San Diego after authorities said he spent the past 14 years living there and working as a chef.
In 2012, Brian Anthony Williams was charged in Scott County, Iowa, for his role in an incident in which a woman was allegedly kidnapped, assaulted and shot.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Williams fled the state in 2013.
“Williams has remained a fugitive for nearly 14 years, appearing on local new stations in the Quad Cities as a most wanted fugitive as well as being posted on the United States Marshals Service Southern District of Iowa’s webpage,” USMS officials said.
The agency said it learned in September that Williams, now 50, had been living in San Diego under the name Troy Williams and was employed as a chef.
Miss B's Coconut Club in Mission Beach confirmed Williams had been working there as a chef for over 10 years.
"This is probably the most shocking thing like ever," Eddie Jurado, general manager of Miss B's Coconut Club, said.
ABC 10News interviewed Williams back in 2025, without knowing his true identity or that he was a fugitive, about creative ways to cut down on holiday food waste.
“Additional investigation showed that the individual believed to be Williams had appeared in local publications and television news reports under that assumed identity,” officials added.
On Tuesday, U.S. marshals located Williams at a business in the 3700 block of Mission Boulevard in Mission Beach and took him into custody. Those at the restaurant where he worked did not know either and were in complete shock.
"I want to feel a certain way, but then I feel a different way because the Troy we knew is not that same guy that did that," said Jurado.
Those who worked with Williams are still trying to wrap their heads around the truth.
"It's disturbing to find this out because there's this whole situation that happened, and there's just so many mixed emotions," a coworker said.
Williams is expected to be extradited to Iowa.
U.S. Marshal Ted Kamatchus, the U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Iowa, said in a statement, “This arrest is a perfect example of those who think they have bested law enforcement and evaded arrest. Deputy U.S. Marshals remain resolute in their relentless pursuit of the most dangerous offenders in our society.”
In the 2012 Davenport, Iowa, kidnapping case, Williams was charged with first-degree kidnapping, assault causing serious injury, conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree arson.
He was also charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in connection with the case.
