Brian Anthony Williams spent nearly 14 years avoiding authorities after a terrifying kidnapping case in Iowa. But while investigators were still looking for him, he was apparently busy building a different life in California. His new career? Working as a chef in San Diego.
Unfortunately for Williams, the recipe for staying off the police radar finally fell apart.
Authorities arrested the fugitive this week in the Mission Beach neighborhood of San Diego. He had allegedly been living under an assumed name while working in the food industry. After nearly 14 years, his time hiding from the law reportedly came to an end.
Talk about a long-running game of hide-and-seek.
Williams is accused of kidnapping, assaulting, and shooting a woman in Iowa in 2012. The case dates back almost 14 years, and investigators had been searching for him since the alleged crimes.
Now, the man accused of carrying out the disturbing attack has been located thousands of miles away from where the incident allegedly happened.
Williams was charged in Scott County later that month with first-degree kidnapping, willful injury causing serious injury, conspiracy to commit a felony and first-degree arson.
In 2013, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Iowa also charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Brian Anthony Williams, 50, was living under an alias and working as a chef in San Diego when he was arrested in connection with a 2012 kidnapping and shooting out of Iowa on Oct. 6, 2025. (U.S. Marshals Service).
California may have offered him a fresh start, but it clearly did not offer permanent protection from the law.
Despite being featured as a most-wanted fugitive on television stations in the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois, and having his information posted on the U.S. Marshals Service’s website, Williams managed to evade capture for nearly 14 years, officials said.
The breakthrough came in September 2026, when investigators developed information suggesting Williams had been living in San Diego under the assumed identity of “Troy Williams.”
Imagine going about your day, ordering food, and having absolutely no idea that the person preparing your meal is allegedly a fugitive wanted in connection with a serious criminal case.
Authorities said Williams had been working as a chef in the coastal community and had even appeared in local news publications and television reports under the assumed name.
Earlier this year, a man identified as Troy Williams was featured in a Times of San Diego Black History Month profile highlighting his work as the head chef at Miss B’s Coconut Club in Mission Beach.
The February article detailed his upbringing in New York City, his experiences with racial discrimination and his path into the restaurant industry.
A 50-year-old man wanted in a violent 2012 kidnapping, assault and shooting case out of Iowa was found living under in alias and working as a chef in San Diego when he was arrested on Oct. 6, 2026.
Williams now faces renewed attention over the 2012 Iowa case.
For now, his California chapter has taken a dramatic turn.
He may have been preparing meals in Mission Beach, but authorities were still looking for answers about what allegedly happened in Iowa.
And this time, the search ended with an arrest rather than another missing-person-style mystery.
