A Gainesville man was arrested a Tuesday after a hotel clerk was attacked Monday morning. Gainesville Police said he left his phone at the scene.
Anthony Carl Williams, 38, walked into the lobby of Sleep Inn and Suites, at 4110 SW 40th Blvd., at about 2 a.m. and sat near the clerk, Officer Ben Tobias, a GPD spokesperson, wrote in an email. He whispered about a car and Waffle House, and she told him they were out of rooms to rent and asked him to leave, according to an arrest report.
He refused to leave, and after she asked again, Williams took out a Bible and started talking about Christianity, police said. The clerk told police Williams walked in and out of the restroom and then grabbed her by the neck with both hands, dragging her to the hotel’s kitchen, according to the report.
She struggled to free herself and screamed for help as he dragged her to the kitchen of the hotel’s dining room, took off her sweater and started unbuttoning her blouse, police said.
A hotel guest heard the struggle and walked in, causing Williams to let go of the clerk and flee, police said. He left his phone behind, and police used a search warrant to go through the phone and identify Williams, according to the report.
The clerk’s neck, stomach and left forearm were cut during the attack, police said.
Someone at the Waffle House near the hotel told police they saw Williams that morning, and officers saw him on security camera footage wearing the same clothes the clerk described, according to the report.
The witness from the restaurant picked Williams out of a photo lineup, but the clerk chose a different person, according to the report.
Police didn’t interview Williams about the crime because he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He also faces a charge of attempted sexual battery, a charge of false imprisonment and kidnapping, according to the GPD report.
Williams was arrested Tuesday by Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on an unrelated charge of drug equipment possession or use, according to court records.
Williams was taken to the Alachua County Jail where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $4,000 bond.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @Lewis__Robert.
Anthony Carl Williams
