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A Georgia man was sentenced Wednesday to 180 days in jail and five years community control after kidnapping a man and coercing him to cash fraudulent checks at Peoples Bank.
Tavaris Williams, 32, of 1319 Henrico Road, Conley, Ga., originally pleaded not guilty to the charges of kidnapping, theft and coercion, but withdrew his former not guilty plea to enter a plea of no contest to theft on June 7.
Per his plea agreement, Williams' kidnapping and coercion charges were dismissed. He appeared for sentencing with Defense Attorney Jay Gerber, before Judge Mark Kerenyi in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.
Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Coil said the case stems from an incident that took place in Washington County in June 2018. She said Williams and Alphonso Howard approached Christopher Sneed and threatened him by telling him they would harm his sister if he did not cash some checks for them.
Sneed was able to cash one check of $3,975.77 at Peoples Bank, but could not cash more due to the bank being alerted to the situation. After the police were alerted, a chase ensued with Howard driving a vehicle containing passengers Williams and Sneed. The chase reached speeds of 120 miles per hour and ended in the woods of West Virginia where Williams took off and was chased on foot by law enforcement. Williams then spent 33 days in jail in West Virginia.
"Based upon the law enforcement investigation, it was determined that this was not the only location where the (check) scheme had occurred," said Coil. "Since Mr. Williams was not the driver, the state was willing to limit his responsibility to the theft which occurred in the form of a fraudulent check, which was cashed at Peoples Bank."
Coil said the Marietta Police Department was interested in speaking with Williams because phone records during the chase connected Howard's car to another vehicle in the same area.
"If you cooperated the State was willing to not argue for a sentence other than the payment of restitution to Peoples Bank," she said.
While talking with the MPD, Williams stated he did not know anyone in the vehicle, that he was asleep from the time he was picked up as a hitchhiker north of Atlanta, Ga., until he found himself in the woods in West Virginia during the police chase. Williams stated he was merely a hitchhiker who was on drugs at the time and slept through the whole thing.
Coil said Detective Allan Linscott, one of the officers who took part in the chase, saw that Williams was an alert passenger in the front seat. Coil said Linscott also contacted Michael Connor, of the Special Games Unit in Atlanta, Ga., who said Williams and Howard were documented by the Georgia Department of Community Supervision and the Georgia State Prison System as being part of a "Runts street gang."
Connor also explained how the Runts have been heavily involved with check fraud and had developed a simple system to cash checks.
"In 2022 members of the Runts were arrested for fraud in eight states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Colorado, Nebraska and Missouri," said Coil.
Coil requested Williams be sentenced to 12 months in jail for the theft.
"Because Mr. Williams has a significant record that involves drugs, weapons under disability, assault, vehicle hijacking and probation violations since 2008, I would ask that Mr. Williams be sentenced to 12 months in jail for this," she said. "I do not think that Mr. Williams is the mastermind behind this grand scheme but his implausible story convinces me that he was a part of it. A sentence is necessary so that the Runts street gang and or any other beings know that such crimes will not be tolerated in Washington County, Ohio."
Kerenyi said he could only sentence Williams to six months jail time, due to the Community Control sanction, but could give him a prison sentence of 12 months as long as it didn't violate the plea agreement.
"Because of what you said he certainly deserves 12 months," he said. "But if I'm going to follow your agreement, I think I'm limited to six months."
Gerber said Williams has spent 33 days in jail in West Virginia and 15 days in jail in Washington County.
"I'd like to emphasize to the court that no one was injured in this case …," he said.
Gerber said Williams is employed with his family's tow truck business, earning $300 per week and will pay off the restitution owed to Peoples Bank.
"He (Williams) has informed us during the debrief for the statement, that at the time of this incident, he was homeless, strung-out on drugs, floating from one place to the next …," said Gerber. "He's a much different person now than he was four years ago and I'd ask the court to consider where he is now."
Kerenyi asked Williams if he would like to make a statement.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't help them any more than I have," Williams said, about providing information to the State.
Williams said at the time of the crime in June 2018, he was strung-out on drugs and had been up for about a week. He said he has been walking a straight path ever since his fiancee told him that she was pregnant with his son.
Kerenyi sentenced Williams to serve 180 days combined in the Washington County jail with a credit of the 48 days he previously served. Additionally, Williams was sentenced to five years of community control under the supervision of the Washington County Probation Department after his jail time and to pay restitution to People's Bank within one year in the amount of $3,975.77.
James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com.