Philly man goes on alleged crime spree an hour after being released from prison

Thomas Lee Williams, 36, allegedly assaulted a woman, stole her car with child in the backseat and then crashed the vehicle

Kristen Oswald, of Royersford, Montgomery County, died during an Ironman triathlon in Ohio on Sunday after being struck by a commercial truck struck while she was cycling on the course. 
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

A Philadelphia man who was freed from a western Pennsylvania prison on Tuesday allegedly stole a car in the prison’s parking lot, drove it off with a 1-year-old boy in the back seat, crashed the car two miles away, and ended the evening back in prison.

Thomas Lee Williams, 36, was released from Westmoreland County Prison around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Tribune-Review.

Williams had pled guilty in January 2017 to dealing drugs at a Knights Inn motel in western Pennsylvania, but court interest in a 2016 drug case against Williams was closed Tuesday, allowing him to be released from prison.

Upon getting out, Williams reportedly encountered a 65-year-old woman in the prison parking lot. He allegedly opened the door of her car, hit her in the face, back, and shoulders, and drove off with the toddler in the backseat car before crashing it.

The woman and the boy were taken to a hospital for examination, according to the Trib. The woman had cuts and abrasions from the alleged attack.

Williams allegedly tried to steal vehicle, according to police, but failed before fleeing into the woods.

Police eventually wrangled Williams from the woods and was arrested within an hour of the incident in the parking lot, the Trib reported.

Williams is charged with kidnapping, robbery of a vehicle, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment.


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