Prosecution finishes witnesses at Sean Williams trial

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Prosecutors wrapped up their two-count escape case against Sean Williams in federal court late Wednesday after an eventful second day that included eyewitness descriptions of Williams’ Oct. 18, 2023 escape from a van and his Nov. 21 capture hundreds of miles away in Florida.

Williams, 52, is charged with one count of attempted escape for a July 23, 2023 incident in Washington County Detention Center and one count of escape for the Oct. 18 escape from a transport van that was bringing him to a court hearing in Greeneville. Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison if convicted. The day ended with prosecutors resting their case (aside from closing arguments) after calling nine witnesses.

Williams, a former Johnson City business owner who faces numerous other sex crime and drug charges, is representing himself in the long-delayed trial after going through four separate appointed attorneys.

Trial witnesses describe Sean Williams’ escape, capture

That “pro se” status has created some tension as U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer’s patience occasionally has worn thin when Williams’ statements have violated court procedure.

“I’ll have the marshals gag you and I’ll force Mr. Berenshteyn to represent you as best he can.”

Judge Ronnie Greer warning Sean Williams about potential consequences of his courtroom behavior in federal court July 24

Before the jury even entered the courtroom, things got heated as Williams, aided by “elbow counsel” Ilya Berenshteyn (who was his fourth attorney), sparred with Greer. He argued over time stamps on some evidence photos and claimed that a private investigator who the government is paying to work for Williams wasn’t doing his job adequately, especially in finding witnesses for Williams.

Greer also warned Williams against bringing up potential corruption by the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD), a topic the judge has ruled irrelevant to the escape case and therefore inadmissible. Greer said Williams’ attempts Tuesday to get a witness to discuss Williams’ claims was “a game you’re playing.”

Williams interjected numerous times during Greer’s various warnings, eventually frustrating the judge to the point of telling Williams if he didn’t stop interrupting, “I’ll have the marshals gag you and I’ll force Mr. Berenshteyn to represent you as best he can.”

About Sean Williams’ alleged crimes and related civil cases

That didn’t happen Wednesday, but shortly after the warning, when Williams said he wanted “an itemized list” of witnesses he sought as he continued complaining about the investigator, Greer delivered another scorcher:

“Mr. Williams, this is classic narcissistic behavior. Blame everybody else. We’re done. We’re done on this issue.”

Parade of witnesses, dual notebooks

On a day that included examination and cross examination of seven prosecution witnesses, Williams further made it clear that he admits to escaping from the van Oct. 18. His only defense on that count, according to Williams’ own words, will be that he escaped what he has termed “unlawful custody.” Williams was captured in Florida Nov. 21, 2023 after more than a month at large.

Williams spent significantly more time cross-examining witnesses who described the Washington County jail incident. He focused on the alleged removal of material in a cell and what that cell was connected to (another cell), but didn’t draw out a strong conclusion as he questioned witnesses.

As Williams often struggled to frame his questions according to court procedure, Greer actually intervened to help him on numerous occasions. When prosecutors Greg Bowman or Meghan Gomez would object, Greer sometimes gently suggested what Williams was trying to ask and had the witness answer that question.

Williams raised several interesting questions, including when he got Washington County Sheriff’s Officer Toby Briggs to say that despite Williams getting a disciplinary writeup for the alleged escape attempt, no one that Briggs knew of had a copy of the writeup.

“Because I didn’t (get written up),” Williams said. “The writeup doesn’t exist.”

Greer, however, asked why that was even relevant — after which Williams seemed to insinuate Briggs might be perjuring himself, asking Greer once and Briggs once whether Briggs was under oath.

Another Washington County witness, jailer Kristina Bryant, testified that on a search of one of the cells Williams was in July 23, she found what appeared to be a copy of the New Testament and Psalms but actually contained a journal inside.

The pages of that journal, which included a booking photo of Williams from a jail “face sheet” and the words “Escaped Convict” after occupation, contained a great deal of writing seemed related to planning an escape or successfully eluding capture afterward.

Bowman went page by page as jurors looked at photos of those pages on computer screens. They saw notes about flooding a cell, ordering a taser and untraceable “burner phones” and interpretations of what appeared to be an alphabetic code the writer had included.

Bryant read through several of those, including one that said “I need to see an aerial view of the jail,” another that read “would you pick me up in the cemetery instead,” and another that said “I can be out for an hour and not be noticed.”

There were also references to trading for items including a sewing needle and a sharpening stone, items Bryant testified would be considered contraband inside the jail.

“All of this that we’ve gone over was contained within that Bible cover?” Bowman asked Bryant, who responded, “Yes sir.”

Williams asked few questions about the journal on cross examination. He did ask whether anything written in it that she saw “would indicate a substantial step” (toward planning an escape). Prosecutors objected to the question and Greer sustained their objection.

The other reference to a journal came as prosecutors questioned Pinellas County, Fla. sheriff’s deputy Ashley Hughes. Under questioning by Gomez, she testified to finding a journal Nov. 20, 2023 inside a truck that Williams had allegedly stolen several days earlier in Greeneville.

In a lengthy description of her work helping to locate and apprehend Williams, Hughes recounted details in the journal that also referenced escape, and had significant details about changing appearance, altering the truck’s appearance and concerns about getting money and shelter, among other things.

Williams had few questions for Hughes or for Dominic Brissett, the Pinellas County K-9 officer who described tracking and apprehending Williams Nov. 21 with the help of his dog, Voodoo.

Nor did he have many for Cody Reed, who was a Laurel County, Ky. officer who described driving the van that Williams escaped from Oct. 18, or for Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officer Thomas Garrison, who described the long but ultimately successful search for Williams.

You can read about their accounts of Williams’ escape and capture in our related story.

The state’s final witness was Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Paul Durant. Durant told jurors he specialized in investigating crimes against children and had been investigating Williams, who also faces federal child pornography production charges, about two years ago.

Durant’s testimony centered around a series of recorded outgoing jail calls Williams made from the Blount County jail March 27. Excerpts were played for jurors, in which Williams can be heard describing his escape from the transport van, with details of how he did it and how he then survived without detection for days in Greeneville inside an abandoned house.

Williams can be heard describing finding metal clips behind a door panel, removing one, and using it to successfully unlock his handcuffs.

“This thing was like already a *#@&ing key,” Williams says. He also describes how he almost jumped out at one point while the van was moving fairly fast, but then waited until Greeneville, and says of the two officers in front of the van, “I don’t see how they didn’t know it” when he broke out a window with his shackles.

“God was helping me, that’s the best explanation,” Williams says before describing the scene after he finally jumped out and landed on his knees: “The van just kept on going. Never knew that I got out.”

Williams asked if the entire calls could be played, but Gomez reminded Greer that other sound contained material that had been ruled inadmissible for the jury to consider.

Williams had just one question for Durant on cross examination, asking whether the call included “mention of an HBO documentary.” Prosecutors objected and Greer sustained the objection.

After the jury exited just after 5 p.m., Williams said he would file a motion related to witnesses Thursday morning. He listed more than half a dozen he’d like to call.

Greer will hear the motion at 9 a.m. Thursday and the jury will return to hear the defense witness interviews and cross examination starting at 9:30.

After the jury was finalized, Greer told jurors that Williams was innocent until proven guilty and that federal prosecutors Bowman and Meghan Gomez had to prove several things beyond a reasonable doubt, including:

• That Williams was legitimately in federal custody

• That he’d been arrested on a felony charge leading to that custody when each incident occurred

• That in the case of the actual escape, he “knowingly and voluntarily left custody without permission.”

• That in the attempt case, he committed an “overt act that was a substantial step toward leaving custody without permission” and that he knew his actions could result in his leaving without permission.

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