Uptown robbery, sex assault suspect given $500K bond

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 19-year-old man accused of robbing and sexually assaulting a couple in uptown Charlotte was given a $500,000 bond Friday.

"I can't remember one like this in uptown. It's a heinous crime. It's particularly disturbing," Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Capt. Dave Johnson said.

Police said a couple were walking to their hotel around 2 a.m. Thursday on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, near the Charlotte Convention Center, when Tevin Quayshawn Williams jumped out from the bushes, pulled a gun and forced them into an alley.

Williams forced the man to strip and then bound him before raping the woman, according to CMPD. They said Williams took a cellphone, wallet and the victims' clothing before fleeing on foot.

Police said the couple, who are from out of town, ran to a nearby hotel to get help.

"To find out that kind of violent crime is happening right outside where you spent the night in a hotel, where you want to feel safe and secure, it's a little unnerving," said Lisa Cray, who is also from out of town and visiting Charlotte.

Tanisha Holder, another out-of-town visitor, told Channel 9 the news of the alleged robbery and rape makes her concerned for her daughter's safety.

"My daughter lives here in Charlotte and she doesn't drive so she walks a lot. She's in this area a lot of times by herself. It really makes me concerned," Holder said.

Police said the male victim was able to provide a good description of the suspect. Police searched the area and located Williams just before 3:30 a.m. Thursday behind a building.

"He was trying to be a little sneaky about how he was moving through the area. That drew their attention," Johnson said about Williams' arrest.

Police said they found a gun on Williams and said it had been stolen a couple of days ago from a car in uptown.

He was taken to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department headquarters, where he was interviewed by sexual assault detectives and then charged in the case.

Williams is charged with three counts of first-degree sex offense, two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of armed robbery, two counts of kidnapping and one count of possession of a stolen firearm.

Police said this is an ongoing investigation.

(Watch CMPD's news conference on the robbery, 

rape

 and arrest)

Williams has a criminal history 

The crime fits a disturbing pattern for Williams, who has been arrested five times since he turned 16.

Channel 9 spoke to Daniel Carper, who said he was attacked at a playground in uptown Charlotte by a group of young people, most of them teenagers, and he said one of those involved was Carpenter, who was 17 at the time.

"They pushed me and I fell backwards, I guess, and landed on that ground, and then they all came down and started slugging on me," Carper said. "They took my $9 'cause it fell out of my pocket and that's about it."

Williams was charged in the robbery, but the charge against him was dropped.

Channel 9 did learned that Williams was convicted in another robbery that happened in 2015. According to the Department of Corrections, he was sentenced to 10 to 21 months in prison. He was released in August 2016 after serving 11 months but his release was revoked and he returned to prison in October 2016, according to the Department of Corrections. Williams was released April 2.

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