Former San Ysidro High School basketball star Mikey Williams is facing three additional felony charges from an alleged shooting incident at his home last March, raising his maximum prison sentence if convicted.
Williams was due in El Cajon Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon for arraignment after a judge ruled in an Oct. 10 preliminary hearing that six previous gun charges could proceed to trial. The three new charges relate to accusations that he made threats to witnesses and also add a new victim to the alleged gun crimes.
Williams and new co-counsel Randy Grossman participated remotely via Microsoft Teams, but Judge Kathleen Lewis postponed the arraignment to Friday morning and ordered both to appear in person.
Deputy District Attorney George Modlin, who was present, told the court he intends to revisit Williams’ bail status on Friday as well. Williams was arrested in April and was released on $50,000 bond.
Lewis also could set a trial date, which could impact Williams’ dwindling chances of playing for the University of Memphis this season. The school issued a statement last month saying that while Williams is enrolled in online classes for the fall semester, he will not participate in any team activities until his legal issues are resolved.
The college season begins Nov. 6 and continues through March. A trial likely wouldn’t be scheduled before January. If convicted, Williams could face as much as 30 years in prison.
The 6-foot-3 internet sensation worth millions from endorsement contracts with Puma and other companies, Williams was facing five felony counts of assault with a weapon and one for firing into an occupied vehicle. A sixth assault count was added because, through testimony at the preliminary hearing, the district attorney learned there were six occupants — not five, as previously believed — in the white Tesla that came under gunfire at Williams’ Jamul home.
The other new charges are two counts of making threats that could result in great bodily injury or death, also stemming from testimony at the hearing. Two teens, who were identified by only their first names because they are minors, told the court that Williams threatened them.
“(Expletive), I will shoot you,” one girl testified Williams told her. “You need to leave now if you don’t want a bullet through your car and through your head.”
The girl said she came to Williams’ $1.2 million hilltop home late on March 27 to visit boyfriend JJ Taylor, Williams’ San Ysidro High School teammate who was living there. Williams, they testified, demanded they leave, then said he was getting his gun and disappeared into another room.
Several witnesses said Williams emerged from the house with a handgun with a red targeting laser as they went to the car, although no one testified that they saw him discharge it. However, all said someone shot at the Tesla as it drove away, and Modlin showed photos of the car with bullet holes in the trunk and rear windshield.
“I think the circumstantial evidence certainly suggests that he was the individual who had the firearm on that occasion based on the timeline described by the witnesses,” Judge Sherry Thompson-Taylor said in her ruling, “and the bullets rang out shortly thereafter.
“It was also testified by the witnesses that no other individual brought a gun with them and that no one saw JJ with a firearm. Therefore, the court does believe there is probable cause (to proceed to trial).”
Williams has appeared in court in person only once, for the Oct. 10 preliminary hearing that was postponed three times from its original June 29. His other appearances have been via video conferencing.
He did not testify at the preliminary hearing, and his attorney and business manager declined comment afterward.
A few hours later, Williams posted on social media a TV news clip of him in court with lyrics from a song by rapper Rylo Rodriguez: “Say the judge and DA (messing with) his head, just stay afloat.”
The Instagram post has since been deleted.
