Brooklyn Center man charged in robbery, biting of motel guest

Rashawn Williams is one of two suspects charged in the case in which a victim lost part of his ear.

By VINCE TUSS, Star Tribune

Last update: July 6, 2009 - 11:14 PM

A Brooklyn Center man has been charged for his role in a bloody armed robbery at a motel that cost a victim part of an ear.

Rashawn Lareese Williams, 24, faces four felony charges in the May 15 attack on a man in a room in a motel on Freeway Boulevard in Brooklyn Center. He is being held in the Hennepin County jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Williams is charged with first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County District Court on July 20.

According to the criminal complaint, filed Thursday, officers called to the motel were met in the lobby by a woman who told them that two men -- one with a gun -- had burst into her room, beat up her boyfriend and began checking the items in the room.

The woman also said the men pulled off one of her boyfriend's rings and were trying to remove another, which the man with the gun was trying to bite off.

When police went to the room, they found the boyfriend with blood running down his face and part of his right ear missing. He also had bite marks on his left ear. He told police that he had seen the men in the lobby before the robbery and that they had taken several pieces of his jewelry, including a $3,000 necklace.

The man told police he had tried to grab the gun, which led to an "intense fight," which was when part of his ear was bitten off, the complaint said.

A hotel clerk later saw a man with a bloody shirt get off the elevator. The clerk identified him as another guest. A check of motel records led to James Leron Epps, 28, of Minneapolis.

Epps, the complaint said, was charged by warrant and later arrested. According to police, he told officers he was involved in the robbery and believed that Williams was armed and had hit the man three times with the gun.

When police talked with Williams, according to the complaint, he said he was at the motel with Epps but they had left after a half-hour and weren't part of any robbery.

The complaint against Williams identifies Epps as the one who bit off part of the ear. Epps also is in the Hennepin County jail, held in lieu of $200,000 bail. He is charged with three felonies -- first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery.

Vince Tuss • 612-673-7692

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