Assault on officer sends tourist to county jail

ELY- A recent visitor here found himself taking an unscheduled trip to the St. Louis County Jail on July 13. Dylan Scott Williams of Centre, Ala., age 31, was staying at the Grand Ely Lodge, according to court documents, when he became belligerent, first assaulting family members before allegedly kicking St. Louis County Deputy Micah Hughes in the face while resisting arrest.
He now faces a charge of felony assault of a peace officer.
Williams was in town for a wedding along with his parents, wife, and baby. In the statement of probable cause filed by the Ely Police Department, his parents said that Williams “had too much to drink at the wedding,” and that he had been “extremely agitated in the lobby and was not making sense.” His parents were trying to get him to his room after walking back to the hotel from the wedding reception.
The family’s statements indicated that Williams’ wife returned earlier to their room to put their child to bed. As Williams’ mother went to knock on the door of her son’s room, he came up behind her and “was about to pound on the door.” His mother moved him back, concerned that he would wake the baby. Williams then pushed his mother to the ground. His father tried to restrain his son when Williams began to punch him, including twice in the head. At this point, other people came to help restrain Williams.
At 9:12 p.m., the Ely Police Department responded to the scene, finding a “large crowd of people” trying to restrain William, who was “yelling incoherently and attempting to fight with the people present.” Williams was “uncooperative” while officers handcuffed him. When placed in a squad car, he “refused to put his legs inside.” According to court paperwork, when Hughes tried to put Williams’ legs inside, Williams kicked him in the face. “Deputy Hughes sustained a cut to his lip and bruising to his right eye. Additionally, Deputy Hughes’ nose is crooked and will need to be X-rayed for a possible broken nose.”
Ely Police officer Christian Debrey took over from Hughes and was kicked “several times in his leg” before law enforcement personnel secured Williams inside the vehicle.
Williams was released from jail after posting a bond for $10,000 on July 16. In addition to the charge of assault on a peace officer, Williams faces two gross misdemeanor counts of assault and obstruction, and three misdemeanor counts of domestic assault.
Williams has an upcoming hearing in court on July 29. His online case record annotates the hearing as “Initial Appearance – Rule 8.” The note may indicate that Williams intends to enter a guilty plea since that is the only plea permitted at a Rule 8 hearing. If he does not plead guilty, he will be arraigned at a subsequent omnibus hearing.