Willits man arrested after string of violence in Laytonville area

A Willits man suspected of assaulting one man and shooting at two others in separate incidents in the Laytonville area was in custody Monday.

Robert Dean Williams, 44, was arrested Friday night on seven suspected felony charges, including gross negligent discharge of a gun, kidnapping and battery with serious bodily injury, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies suspect both incidents occurred Thursday afternoon.

In one case, he threatened two men hired to fix a gate on rural road late Thursday afternoon, accusing them of trespassing, and then fired a rifle at their vehicle, officials said.

Those victims, a 28-year-old Laytonville man and a 20-year-old Ukiah man, told deputies they feared for their lives as they fled. As they drove away, they saw the suspect again, standing near a Toyota 4Runner, this time holding a rifle. One man jumped out of the car and ran into nearby brush and the other drove off, hearing gunfire behind him, officials said.

That incident occurred about 5:15 p.m. While deputies were investigating Friday, a third man reported he was assaulted by a man while dealing with his car, which had broken down on Spy Rock Road.

That victim, a 42-year-old Garberville man, told deputies he was walking on the rural road about 1 p.m. when a man in a Toyota 4Runner confronted him, accusing him of trespassing. The victim explained that his car broke down, but Williams knocked him to the ground, officials said. Williams then forced him across the road and kept him on the ground and sprayed him with pepper spray, officials said.

Another person saw the assault and stopped it, and the victim headed home to seek medical care for several injuries.

The three victims identified Williams from a series of photos, and deputies arrested him Friday. He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail with bail set at $125,000. The charges included that Williams was a parolee and not allowed to have a gun, officials said.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.