by Connor Kianpour
The preliminary hearing for the case of Dequise Jamar Williams took place in Department 13 of the Superior Court of Yolo County on November 9, 2018, Judge Paul K. Richardson presiding. It is alleged that Mr. Williams assaulted his wife at the Motel 6 on Halyard Drive in West Sacramento on the night of August 21, 2018 into the morning of August 22.
Deputy DA David Robbins, representing the prosecution in this case, first called to the witness stand the victim of the alleged crime. She recounted the events leading up to the incident in late August and also recounted the incident itself. She first testified that she had been with Mr. Williams for three years until the two became estranged in July, when Mr. Williams’s substance abuse got out of hand and he was suspected of cheating on her.
After some time apart, Mr. Williams’s wife wanted to reach out to her husband and make amends. In late August, she booked a motel room at the Motel 6 where the two could meet, since she was staying in a homeless shelter at the time. She arrived at the motel at around four or five in the evening and Mr. Williams arrived two hours thereafter. After they had dinner together in the room, they engaged 
in intercourse. His wife testified that afterward, they got into in a verbal argument and engaged in intercourse a second time but she did not render consent this second time.
Mr. Williams’s wife testified that, afterward, Mr. Williams’s verbal aggression escalated into physical aggression. He at first shoved his wife backward with both of his hands. When she tried to leave the room, he grabbed her by her hair which was in a bun at the time and forced her away from the door. She was taken toward the bathroom in the motel room where she fell to the ground. At this point, Mr. Williams strangled his wife for five to ten seconds according to her testimony. She kicked and punched at him to get away, at which point he let go of her.
Four days after this incident, Mr. Williams’s wife went to the hospital because she was bleeding vaginally. While she was at the hospital, there were scratches identified on the back of her neck 
and marks on her head that suggested she was struck in that area several times. Mr. Williams’s wife ended her testimony by saying that Mr. Williams attempted to contact her many times after this incident but she had not seem him since the end of August when they last saw each other in that motel room.
Mr. Robbins then called to the stand Officer Danielle Blount. She was called to Kaiser North at 12:20 PM to gather information from Mr. Williams’s wife about the specifics of the alleged crime. Officer Blount testified that there was a small scratch behind the victim’s left ear that was about a quarter of an inch in length. She also testified that the victim told her that she had been struck in the forehead twice.
Furthermore, Officer Blount testified about a statement she took from the man who picked Mr. Williams up from the Motel 6 on the morning of August 22, 2018. The man said that Mr. Williams was angry at his wife and was saying things about how he wanted to kill her and chop her up. During cross-examination, Deputy Public Defender Martha Sequeira of the defense insinuated that this man’s statement cannot be taken as credible because he has substance abuse problems.
Judge Richardson found that Mr. Williams must answer to the three counts he is charged with, based on the evidence put forward in this preliminary hearing. He has three felony charges of inflicting corporal injury, committing assault by force, and instigating false imprisonment to answer to.
The arraignment for Mr. Williams will be on December 3, 2018.
