By Manpreet Cheema
The preliminary hearing for William Bremby Scott took place Friday afternoon in Department 13 of the Superior Court of Yolo Country in Woodland, CA. Judge Paul K. Richardson was presiding as William Scott was charged with a felony for ambushing and assaulting a man and slashing the tires of his car. He is charged with violating Penal Code §245 (a)(4) which states that any person who commits assault upon another by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in a state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year. It is alleged that Mr. Scott is guilty of violating this penal code by attacking the victim in a way that indicated he meant serious injury.
Two witnesses were called to the stand. The first witness was the victim who was attacked by Mr. Scott. He described that he saw a man leaning next to his truck late at night on April 9, 2018, and went down to investigate what the man was doing by his vehicle. He had seen Mr. Scott around the motel before, as they had both been living there, but he had never interacted with him prior to that night. The witness was attacked from behind and struck above his right eye, which left a quarter-size laceration. He was put into a choke hold and thrown to the ground before having his head slammed into the concrete multiple times. Another resident helped him fight off Mr. Scott and escape upstairs, where he waited for the police to arrive. His girlfriend witnessed the attack in its entirety and yelled for help throughout it.
The second witness was Officer Nicholas Lewis of the West Sacramento Police Department. He was the officer who responded to the victim’s 911 call and reported to the motel. Upon arrival, he met the victim upstairs on his balcony and was told that Mr. Scott had been throwing things at him and had hid in his room. He found Mr. Scott’s room and waited outside for an hour while attempting to get him to emerge. After many attempts, Mr. Scott opened the door to his room and complied with the police when he was arrested. The officer explained that Mr. Scott said he attacked the victim because he, and the other resident who helped the victim escape, had been harassing him. Scott said he did not open the door when police knocked due to fear.
The People presented a video that was surveillance footage from the motel parking lot. In the video, the assault can be seen clearly and matches the description provided by the victim. Given the nature of the assault and the way it was carried out, according to the surveillance footage, there may be a possibility that Mr. Scott did intend to cause the victim great bodily harm.
Judge Richardson ruled that Mr. Scott’s felony charges will be upheld. The arraignment for this case will take place on February 1, 2019, at 8:30 AM in Department 13.
