January 5, 2011
DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Crime

Meet The Felon With The Golden Voice

The lengthy rap sheet of sensation Ted Williams

Ted Williams

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Williams Police Report

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JANUARY 5--Before becoming the country’s most distinctive new voice, Ted Williams compiled a lengthy rap sheet that landed him in several Ohio lockups on a variety of criminal charges, according to law enforcement records.

Williams, 53, has been busted for theft, robbery, escape, forgery, and drug possession. He is pictured below in mug shots (click to enlarge) taken as a result of those Ohio collars, which stretch back more than two decades.

The convicted felon’s speedy rise to fame is not sitting well with one Columbus businessman who called cops on Williams and a female companion in early-July. The man, a manager at National Tire & Battery, told cops that Williams and the woman were “refusing to leave the business property” and had become an “ongoing problem” for the business, according to a police report.

While Williams begged customers for money, the woman “gets picked up and dropped off in the parking lot by various and numerous males in different vehicles. The management had repeatedly asked the two suspects to stay off the property and have been cussed and yelled at by the suspects for their effort.”

Cops warned Williams and his companion that they would be arrested if they returned to the property. The businessman, who only wanted to be identified as Dan, told TSG that Williams’s newfound notoriety had left him a “little aggravated.” The man said that he had seen Williams urinate in front of the business, and watched recently as he and his female friend stripped to their underwear as they changed into dry clothes during a rainstorm.

Dan added that his company shares a lot with a Lowe’s store, and he has seen Williams stealing items from cars parked by customers visiting the home improvement firm. “He’s basically been a thief for the past two years,” Dan said. The businessman added that last month he saw cops putting Williams in a squad car. However, the Columbus Division of Police had no record of Williams being collared in December. (1 page)

Williams Police Report

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Ted Williams, Ohio

Comments (325)

Submitted by I.C.Wiener on Mon, 2011-01-10 12:02.
Looks like Jared Lee Loughner stole your thunder Ted. You disappeared from the television as fast as you appeared. Thank gawd. My heart goes out to the folks in Arizona that have lost and those that are healing but please do not reward Jared with voiceover work, or any more "celebrity" (his likely opinion of himself) attention than he is already getting. Crime shouldn't pay.
Submitted by mombo on Mon, 2011-01-10 10:42.
I myself can't imagine what I would do, if I found myself homeless, on the street, no money, no food. The feeling of worthlessness, hopelessness, no self esteem that would perpetuate itself. I hope and pray for Ted and for countless others that they find the grace to rise above that condition and make something of themselves.
Submitted by ThattGurl65 on Tue, 2011-01-11 18:19.
Well stated..
Submitted by Redrover on Mon, 2011-01-10 14:02.
Go to the nearest shelter. There will be food and someone willing and able to help you. After you have had a meal and good night sleep, go to the local day-labor office and take whatever work they've got.
Submitted by irishcutter21 on Mon, 2011-01-10 16:09.
Good comment spidercat. Couldn't agree with you more.
Submitted by Redrover on Mon, 2011-01-10 19:02.
Oh hell, I think the room is spinning!
Submitted by ColumbusCop on Sun, 2011-01-09 22:35.
I'm a cop in Columbus and ran into Ted a couple of times through the years and I'm trying to figure out why it even makes news that Ted was the typical chronic homeless person begging for money on the street corner and has a lengthy rap sheet. Yeah, had it not been for this lucky break, he'd likely be out here still doing the same stuff. But at what point do we say he shouldn't have accepted any of the help he's received in the last few days? Did his rap sheet surprise you? Does it bother you that he gets this chance? So lets examine this naive "A-Ha!" about this supposedly smoking gun of his rap sheet and understand that mentality is precisely is what keeps these criminals on the street...by chastising the very act of helping a criminal catch a lucky break. So apparently you'd rather Ted still be on the streets breaking into cars and committing other crimes than him have this chance to clear himself up. Way to go, general public.
Submitted by I.C.Wiener on Mon, 2011-01-10 12:14.
Yikes, if you're a cop, imma da pope. Tell me officer, what do you do in your civilian time? Do you donate your law enforcement expertise to better your neighborhoods? Do you collect and/or deliver meals, clothing and other life necessities to folks like Ted? Do you approach people like Ted, on or off duty, and offer them a ride to some place warm and out of harm's way? Quite frankly, it bothers me that his mounting "rap sheet" didn't land him incarcerated for an extended period of time so that he could get the rehabilitation he so desperately needs. Homeless people are treated like roadside breakdowns in bad weather; law enforcement prefers to just look the other way. Yeah, yeah, I know, budget cuts.
Submitted by ColumbusCop on Thu, 2011-01-13 02:40.
"Yikes, if you're a cop, imma da pope" Yeah, get a new one. I've been hearing that for years. But I'll take it as a compliment. To answer your rhetorical questions one by one: "Tell me officer, what do you do in your civilian time?" Lots of shiat. Really. And I have my causes and torches, but I bet they aren't your causes and torches. but that's okay, we can't all go after all the ills of the world. we have to pick and choose. And I am shooting a documentary right now (well, in the morning for more footage) of the homeless situation. Next. Do you donate your law enforcement expertise to better your neighborhoods? Yep. Next question. "Do you collect and/or deliver meals, clothing and other life necessities to folks like Ted?" Not really. But I have contributed several years to delivering Christmas gifts I paid for to underprivileged kids in the neighborhood. And I did volunteer one day to Food not Bombs, even though I disagree with the 'not bombs' part (within reason). (continued below)
Submitted by ColumbusCop on Thu, 2011-01-13 02:41.
(contrinued from above) "Do you approach people like Ted, on or off duty, and offer them a ride to some place warm and out of harm's way?" Yep. Every SINGLE time they need one when they are in harms way. I give rides off duty and on duty. Next. "Quite frankly, it bothers me that his mounting "rap sheet" didn't land him incarcerated for an extended period of time so that he could get the rehabilitation he so desperately needs." I hear you. It bothers me to. In my county, it's a turnstile system. And the 'correctional' facilities are not correctional. They're punitive, period, in most cases. Now, that's not to trash the prisons across the board, because they do provide libraries and other ways for prisoners to better themselves. But when an inmate is fearing being stabbed or raped, they aren't very focused on the betterment stuff. Furthermore, I'm sure the prisons could do more to encourage and incentivize learning and betterment, because most of these inmates don't have a clue how education empowers them. It's absolutely unacceptable that inmates (who try to avoid it) get raped or assaulted in jail. some say they shouldn't have gotten themselves thrown in jail to start with, and I say good luck with your life, because I won't be able to explain it to you how that is the most selfish, Farkhead thinking that you support until you are a victim of it. Then, if you do experience it and still support it, you're just afraid to admit you were wrong. "Homeless people are treated like roadside breakdowns in bad weather; law enforcement prefers to just look the other way." You are correct, sir. It sucks, but there are a few officers out there who don't do that.
Submitted by Redrover on Mon, 2011-01-10 08:15.
He didn't "catch a lucky break". He's the latest feel-good cause for the easily entertained and morally confused.
Submitted by ColumbusCop on Thu, 2011-01-13 02:44.
You're wrong and right. He demonstrably DID catch a lucky break. That couldn't be any more clear. And you are right that the only reason he did catch that break was because he was the latest feel-good cause for the easily entertained. But not necessarily morally confused.
Submitted by Redrover on Fri, 2011-01-14 07:37.
No....... they're confused alright. Nine abandoned kids and at least 12 mug shots isn't my idea of a good reason for a "second chance". On the other hand, it's a damned good reason for this guy to be spending a lot of time working on a farm or making big rocks into little rocks.
Submitted by irishcutter21 on Mon, 2011-01-10 16:19.
My favorite photo of this upstanding citizen is the one where he looks drunk and or on crack......oh, wait a minute that would be all of the photos. He is old news now and after this week he will be dust in the wind.
Submitted by Redrover on Mon, 2011-01-10 19:08.
Indeed. There's a certain kind of person that thinks that it's a miracle on 39th street because some idiot captured this slime on a cell phone and posted it. Even a superficial scan of this guy's story reveals a selfish, nasty, creep.
Submitted by AnAlbumCover on Mon, 2011-01-10 01:31.
I don't think that is really fair. I could understand that you have a completely different perspective since you deal with all walks of life on a daily basis and that perhaps for you any solution to the problem is better than none, but please don't blame "us" for a criminal's choices in life. Life is unfair and can deal some really harsh blows to people, but I will not lower my expectations simply because someone got a lucky break. If a criminal such as Mr. Williams has a sense of entitlement (or any other criminal for that matter) about how he or she should be treated because of their immediate past then the problem is theirs entirely and certainly not mine. I was mugged one night by a bunch of street kids trying to steal the food I was carrying home. After throwing rocks in my face (rocks!) and breaking my glasses I managed to run away (what if I had not been wearing glasses?!). Later that night I could not ID them because I was not allowed out of the police cruiser and was too far away to see them (for those asking "how did you know it was them?" it's because they had been caught terrorizing someone else on the same street). How ironic, right? I still have fear when walking at home at night which my friends cannot understand, irrational as it is. So, who am I to judge this man? I am one of "his" victims and so he will be judged like every other criminal. His "lucky break" was not caused by his work ethic or him striving to be good. His break came from a viral video that people are capatilizing on because of brand recognition. Nothing more. I hope he does well and makes ammends for those lives he has hurt in the last twenty years. But not judge him? Sorry. No way. It was his choices, not mine.
Submitted by irishcutter21 on Mon, 2011-01-10 16:27.
We are only talking about this crack head because the Media had nothing else to report on for a short time. He was just filling space on all the news networks.
Submitted by Will T. on Mon, 2011-01-10 00:20.
Very well put officer.
Submitted by Redrover on Sun, 2011-01-09 23:58.
No, we hope Ted turns his life around. However, it would be a lot more appropriate if this artificially created "lucky break" had gone to a man who actually gave a damn for his children, wife, mother and wasn't "discovered" in between breaking into someone's car and pimping his girlfriend. Some regular guy and good citizen down on his luck with a family to feed. But hell, that would be boring.
Submitted by forthenguyen on Sun, 2011-01-09 11:57.
I bet you if this guy was white he wouldn't get any hate. If he doesn't affect you lives then you shouldn't care. Politics is bullsh*t and corrupts the mind of human race. everyone should just be focusing in advancing the human race. All this sh*t wouldn't matter in the future if a race of advanced alien species come and conquer earth and make everyone their slaves or gamma ray bursts hit the Earth or even a cosmic solar wind blasting our atmosphere away. Would Ted Williams matter to you then? Hell no. Politics stalls the advancement of the human species. Everyone should just be engineers and physicists.
Submitted by ThattGurl65 on Tue, 2011-01-11 18:22.
You hit the nail on the head !! My sentiments exactly !!
Submitted by AnAlbumCover on Sun, 2011-01-09 16:49.
"I bet you if this guy was white he wouldn't get any hate". Actually, why don't you take a look at Patrick Tribett, another Internet meme. He's white and got the same amount of flack for apparently turning his life around after being a scumbag. Also, while I appreciate your sentiment regarding a global focus on engineering and physics, your argument may hold together a little bit more if you practiced what you preached and learned how to properly use grammar and, perhaps, not use expletives to get your point across. Finally, Ted William's story, and those like him, do matter to us because we are wary of liers and thieves like Ted William's has been for so many years. We certainly *want* him to have turned his life around, but it bothers people that he didn't do what most of us do to become successful (or not): work hard and not resort to illegal activities for personal gain. Drugs and alcohol can be a menace to many people but they are no excuse for a life of crime, regardless of how it is labeled a "disease". I hope Mr. Williams has found the right path, stays on it and makes ammends for his life. He certainly has taken advantage of enough people that his victims now deserve some of his reward.
Submitted by Oh please. on Fri, 2011-01-14 14:10.
Agreed.
Submitted by waif on Sun, 2011-01-09 20:26.
@ AnAlbumCover: Before you take someone to task regarding his or her grammar, you might want to proofread your comment. It's Williams', not William's. And liar, not lier. I'm just saying.
Submitted by Redrover on Sun, 2011-01-09 21:38.
AnAlbumCover ought to be very flattered. After conducting as careful a review of his statement as you possibly could, your rebuttal amounts to one each punctuation and spelling error.
Submitted by Redrover on Sun, 2011-01-09 15:54.
Only a liberal plays the race card when the evidence goes against him.
Submitted by imasuitman on Sat, 2011-01-08 23:49.
Ted Williams for POTUS!!!
Submitted by jackkie17 on Sat, 2011-01-08 20:30.
I think this is God's plan for this man. Yes, he has had some mistakes in his life but haven't we all? We are all only human and when a man like this gets to change his life dirasticly for the best, then I can only be nothing but happy for him. So I think people should just count their blessings and be happy for this gifted man that gets a fresh new chance at life.
Submitted by ColumbusCop on Sun, 2011-01-09 22:34.
So where's God for all the rest of the homeless out there? I guess you have to have talent before God lays his favor on you, eh?
Submitted by phonedawgz on Sun, 2011-01-09 10:25.
Your God must have really hated Ted Williams to mess up his life with drugs and alcohol for years.
Submitted by Redrover on Sun, 2011-01-09 00:22.
Be concerned for the good man that didn't abandon his children and is seeing this criminal reap a windfall while he tries to think of a way to feed his family next week.
Submitted by merc740 on Sat, 2011-01-08 16:48.
Okay, from the information gathered through reading these post I have come to the conclusion that Redrover is Jesus. He is a perfect man and deserves all of your worship. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. How did this article turn into a conservitive/liberal mud wrestling match? It has nothing to do with anyones political views whatsoever. Is this the United States? United being the operative word here. This man has a real gift and is being recognized by the nation for it, we should stand behind him and support him to the fullest. If he falls on his face, then step over and move on. Yes, he is a felon, yes he has done some bad things and made terrible decisions. Some very recently, but does that mean he should be shunned and discounted as a complete failure? No, it means use caution with your own hopes for his future. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best...
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:57.
Look at those booking pictures above. This guy is a veritable liberal wet dream. He pretty much disgusts the rest of us.
Submitted by Somechick7997 on Sat, 2011-01-08 22:14.
While I appreciate what you've said, Redrover, I would like to ask you to quit saying that he could go for a job as low as working at 7-11. Times are tough, I have a college education and I work at a small truck stop/gas station. It's extremely hard work, believe it or not, and 90% of the customers I have couldn't do my job.
Submitted by Redrover on Sun, 2011-01-09 00:17.
You are right. I was out of line. I apologize.
Submitted by Somechick7997 on Thu, 2011-01-13 15:24.
Thank you, not so sure that you were out of line, you've just probably never worked at a gas station before. I have to say, though, that I agree with you. My fiance was laid off in December and we're just now receiving his unemployment benefits. I can't help but feel like if he was a crack head or something he would have gotten his benefits and so much more a lot faster. He's a very hard worker who fell victim to the economy, not some crack head drunk that steals from peoples cars. We're completely broke yet we haven't stole from anyone, we don't blame anyone except the bigwigs that own the company he worked for for making idiotic decisions. Maybe I should have him hold up a cardboard sign on the side of the road talking about his bad decisions and someone will feel bad for him and give him a job rather than going off his resume of hard work for the past 17 years. I should probably get him a bottle of jack too huh.
Submitted by Redrover on Fri, 2011-01-14 07:46.
When I was in my early 20s there were times that I was homeless too. I lived out of my car and bathed in gas station bathrooms. I took day labor jobs cleaning fish on the docks, hauling garbage, picked crops and some absolutely brutish labor. I find it truly insulting that there are people here who would assume that I was just naturally a thief or criminal because of my circumstances. At the time, I was deeply upset about where I was at and profoundly self conscious. I worked my way out of it and today have a very comfortable life. HOWEVER... it NEVER occurred to me to be a damned criminal. I would have starved first.
Submitted by Will T. on Sat, 2011-01-08 20:56.
to be perfectly blunt about this. It seems to me that RedRover is an obvious teabagger (Mouths open, fists raised, mind closed). Maybe he was urinating outside of the store because the shop owner wouldn't let him in because of trespassing, same with lowe's. Maybe he was stealing from the lowe's customers cars because he had nothing. Maybe he hung around this place because he lived in a very wet box around the corner. Sure, he screwed up and yeah he broke the law but did you guys ever think that maybe he was doing that because he had no other option? You probably think 'oh he just needs to get a job'. easier said than done buddy. And yeah, he has mug shots dating back 2 decades but don't you think that after having to live on the streets he probably wouldn't go back to his old ways? just saying it's worth a shot. and before you call me one I'm not a liberal.
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 23:53.
Thank you Will. I have been insisting all along that only a liberal would defend a low-life scum-bag. Several people here have insisted that political affiliation has nothing to do with it. Thanks for clearing it up.
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 16:59.
Thank you my son....... only liberals say "I think I just threw up in my mouth". Have a blessed day.
Submitted by merc740 on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:31.
Only douchebags can't respond with anything other than to make assumptions about one's political views. I know many people on both sides of the aisle that use that phrase on a regular basis. What is your solution to this pressing issue sir?
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:51.
To be honest with you, the characteristic that pegs your view of the world, is the disregard of the facts and the insistence that anyone critical of this situation is being mean or uncharitable or unkind to the poor. There are twelve mug shots above with the comments of an eye witness. I'll bet this guy's victims over the years are just delighted to see him become an overnight celebrity because he happened to hold his cardboard sign up to the correct sucker.
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:39.
I am sure I've made the correct assumptions regarding your views on politics and life. I have already stated my views on this issue. Try to keep up. I have neither professed perfection nor suggested this man ought not try to change his life. I have, as others have, pointed out that this is not a story of redemption or a man trying to change his life. This is a story of a bum who was pissing on a store front a few weeks ago, stealing from the parking lot and pimping his girlfriend...... who has won the pity lottery.
Submitted by merc740 on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:52.
I am sure I have made the correct assumption that you are a douchebag as well. You know absolutely nothing about my personal political views, and it is frankly none of your business. This is a story of attempted redemption, the ending has not been written yet. This man does deserve a chance to succeed and I, along with yourself, hope to see him succeed. His past record has shown that he might not do it, but this is the USA and anything can happen. It is sad that both of us have spent this much time and effort discussing an issue that has absolutely no effect on our lives. I am, however, very happy to have an intelligent argument with someone on an internet message board. It is a rare and wonderful thing...
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:58.
It's not sad at all. It really doesn't take all that much time and I consider it my civic duty to school liberals like you.
Submitted by Redrover on Sat, 2011-01-08 17:55.
See what I mean. Only a liberal would wail that "this man deserves a chance". This piece of crap has had dozens of chances.
Submitted by mombo on Mon, 2011-01-10 10:48.
Are you serious??? Thank Heavens God doesn't look down at us as individuals and say, that piece of crap doesn't deserve another chance!!!
Submitted by Redrover on Mon, 2011-01-10 13:57.
Thank goodness a bunch of soft-headed, ding-dongs looked down upon Ted.
Submitted by Michael2011 on Sun, 2011-01-09 12:54.
And just how do you know how many chances he has had (matter of factly)? You don't, I don't, the media says X and Y are true, but we truthfully don't know. I am far from a liberal .. quite the opposite as a matter of fact. As a conservative Christian I recognize that God gives us all multiple chances. We would all be gone if He didn't. YOU sound more like a liberal in that sense.
Submitted by Redrover on Sun, 2011-01-09 15:34.
Well Mike, I know that he has had at least 12 chances (see booking photos above). I also know that according to the eye witness above, when he was "discovered", he was engaged in pimping his girlfriend, steeling from cars in a parking lot and pissing on storefronts. Maybe "god" didn't so much provide this opportunity as did a bunch of misguided, morally confused folks like you.
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