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

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)

Comments (325)

Haha thank you!! Put perfectly! Liberal or not, if he looks like a bum, smells like a bum, acts like a bum, HE'S A BUM!!!! People do deserve a second chance, possibly even a third, but not a 14th! If you're that niave that a 50some year old man is going to change his ways, than I feel terribly sorry for you. You can preach this "second chance" "good for him" bullshiat, but when he's out of money and its your car he's breaking in to, or you're the victim of his next fix, you won't feel the same way. And go ahead, say "its not going to happen to me!!!" I'm sure all the other people that this deadbeat hurt said the same exact thing. Its great to be a forgiving person, but there a fine line between "forgiving" and just plain "insane." -The voice of reason!" I'll be there to say "I told you so"
But! Oh dear me! You'd be a lowlife too if you were out of work, had abandoned your children, were a sleazy-ass felon and happened to need a little crack money. Have a little compassion for god's sake!
You are so stuck on the liberal thing aren't you? Well according to you he should not have any chance at all, correct? You do realize that the founding fathers of our great nation were all, at one time, considered criminals? So maybe they should have been thrown in the stoscks or publicly flogged? All of us at this very moment should be singing "God Bless the Queen" if my assumptions are correct. I don't think he should be given the key to the city, or any other key for that matter, but I also don't think he should automatically be dismissed for past and present criminal activity. It's not like he is going to be in any position of responsibilty, he will be the voice of some consumer products, wow. If you are really that concerned with his behavior then find out what companies he will be working for and do a very American thing. Boycott them.
Liberalism aside. I'm a little amused at hearing people celebrate a "past and present" dirt bag.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I love my guns and kill as many animals as I can... I also don't think that women should be allowed to just stop by the local doc and get an abortion whenever they feel the need. That's definitely not liberal. I'm not conservative either. Just American...
You sound like a nut. I am a conservative and wouldn't point a rifle at anything but a paper target. Women can't just stop by the local doc and get an abortion friend. Don't try so hard to sound like a conservative, they aren't what the Huffington Post and DailyKos told you they are.
Here's my RANT...every human being deserves a chance to redeem themselves. It is their God given right...what is most difficult in our world to do today is to INSTILL desire and willpower. I know of a homeless man for 18 years now. He is a Professor of Physics and he gave up on society. I had offered him several opportunities to clean up and I would have a job waiting for him. He just does not want to do it. Btw, there is no such person in ONtario Canada that is HOMELESS. Ontario's mandate is to maintain 10% empty beds in Ontario. There is a roof, a clean bed, clean cloths, food and assistance for every STREET PERSON in Ontario. It is the Government which should change the laws to enforce Life Safety for those humans in need for whatever reason. These people should be brought to special homes for their well being and the societies. The other day seeing an elderly lady sitting on an air vent grating at -12C is terrible. It is disgusting that our system allows this human being to suffer like this. So, yes there are those that need help to live...WHY DOES GOD ALLOW THIS? I am not religious but I WANT 'THE' ANSWER...for the suffering of humans!!!
Here are a few answers for you. Pick whichever makes sense. 1. God does not exist, therefore there is no reason 2. God does exist, but has stated that personal responsbility is yours while you are alive and "his" when you die, so you are meant to live your life "correctly" otherwise eternity is going to suck for you.
I've read a lot of these pot on here where some of you are saying that you would never become a "criminal" to survive if you were homeless. You say you'd go to a shelter for food, or you'd get a job flipping burgers or at a convenient store some where. Well I got news for you, those shelters you are relying on to feed you run out of food quite frequently. And you've got to be joking about the getting the job part right, because no one's going to hire a bum to work for them due to the preconceived ideas that I've seen posted time and again on this page. It is true that Ted made some bad decisions. Those decisions cost him his job and his family. I'm not trying to make excuses for the man. But seriously, can't you people let bygones be bygones, and let the man try and get his life back in order. Or is he not to be given the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stated in the Deceleration of Independence because of his criminal past?
" But seriously, can't you people let bygones be bygones, and let the man try and get his life back in order." No. He is a liar and a thief. It is NOT up to me (or us) to trust him. It is up to HIM to earn back our trust and our responsibility to be wary of people that lie, cheat and steal their way through their lives. Remember this: he has victimized people for 20 years and his rap sheet indicates only for those offenses he has been caught. Why do you not feel sorry for those people? What about the mother of his girlfriend whose daughter he was pimping? I certainly hope he does the right thing from now on, but that must also include in some way reparations for the life he *chose* to lead. Yes, he had a choice. Please don't argue it was the drugs and alcohol is a disease argument. Finding god means making a choice. He could have chosen some other path a long time ago.
I was going to write a comment of my own but I couldn't agree with your any more that something I could write. Also I live in Dayton Ohio and yes the shelters have many problems. I'm not homeless but who knows about tomorrow and I do know homeless people. One aspect people aren't thinking about is that not all homeless people are the weak frail people you want to think of some of these people are straight out of prison,some of them might of just became homeless yesterday and are still ticked off about it and when you get all these people into one area it becomes like jail and people will start trying to prove they are the "alpha male" basically they try to "punk" you out and some people try to avoid places like this some folks rather deal with things on their own rather than put up with the anxiety.
I see..... he should be excused because life is just so unpleasant for miscreants.
Shelter ran out of food? Then you go to another shelter. You want to work? Then dig ditches cut grass or pick fruit. You want bygones to be bygones? Then behave for more than a few weeks.
I'll bet you a dollar that if we took away your home, your job (at Duke & Duke), your car and your butler (Coleman) that you turn to crime like a fish to water. Give the guy a break and let the story play out. You're just jealous it wasn't you who had a God given talent.
Perhaps. However, no one took away his car and home and wife and children. He threw them away of his own accord. And chose instead to be a thief, pimp, drug addict and felon. I hardly feel any envy. Strange that you do.
You ever see a bum with a lawn mower? And in most urban areas the only people allowed to do ditch work are the people that work for the utility companies and /or the the city. Picking fruit is all fine and dandy but that's seasonal work and when its out of season there isn't any work. The only problem with your statement about going to different shelters is the distance between them. On average shelters are place about 15 to 20 miles apart to be able to help more people. When I was in the Corps I met these people that talked a lot about what they were going to do when they got into combat, but once the lead started flying they would freeze up and have a mental break down. The point is that you never know what you're going to do in any given situation until you're put in that situation.
On the other hand, the vast majority of people do the right thing. Some, like this guy piss on storefronts, pimp their girlfriend out and commit felonies. We call them felons. I think it's a pitty that liberals think so little of poor people that they would lump them in with this guy. I spent a long time in the Army myself and have had the pleasure to serve in some of the most poverty stricken, hellish places in the world. Poor people are as law abiding as you or I. And having seen how the rest of the world lives, our bums are fortunate indeed. However, there's no point in arguing with you on the issue because although he was a piece of crap only a week ago, you'll be delighted to make an excuse for him NO MATTER WHAT. That's what liberals do. Oh..... and the mental break down thingy when the lead starts flying, give me a break.
I'm not making excuses, and you're right he is a felon. No one's trying to contest you on that. But just cause a man's a felon does not mean that he can't try and turn his life around.
I didn't say he ought not try. As a matter of fact I earlier said I hope that he does and that this changes his life. However, I know many people who are not criminals that are having a hard time these days and would find this whole story a bit ironic.
There's something very interesting coming out of these remarks. Conservatives here point to the fact that the guy was in trouble with the police only a few weeks ago. Liberals point out that in their world being poor justifies being a thief, drug addict, abandoning your children and committing felonies on your fellow citizens. And........ that because they are throwing a pity party for him, we all ought to forget that he was pimping some woman out to strangers in front of Lowe's just before Christmas. Are liberals really that morally bankrupt?
You've stated in a few of your post now that he was pimping some woman out to strangers in front of Lowe's just before Christmas. I'm just wondering if you actually read the whole article, because the last sentence is and I quote "However, the Columbus Division of Police had no record of Williams being collared in December." You really are just grasping at straws to try and put some one else down aren't you.
The article didn't say he was "collared" it says he was warned by police to leave. I don't have to "grasp at straws. There is the word of a witness and twelve mug shots directly above.
Seriously, have you ever been that poor? Jesus said "let those with out sin cast the stone" based on your remarks I assume you believe you are without sin. That is, of course, impossible, you're merely deluded. I can only assume that you resent this mans' potential success because you are a failure yourself. Conservatives are far more morally bankrupt than liberals.
Why do liberals have such contempt for those who are poor that they equate poverty with criminality. Sad. He isn't a potential success. He is a pimp, thief, and felon who is being lavished with gifts. Only someone with no concept of right and wrong celebrates a turd like this.
because not all people come from a wealthy and secured family like you. i bet you if you grew up and lived the life he had lived, you wouldn't be any different.
I see.... so poor people are just naturally criminals and tend to pimp out their women, abandon their children and piss on business storefronts? Who knew! Does that apply mostly to African American poor people or do you think all poor people are scum?
I've stolen from my parents and from the public, I've done drugs, I've smoked weed, ive snorted coke, I have committed forgery, i've broken the law many times and ran away from the cops many times, but I have never murdered or raped anyone. Neither has he. Snoop Dog, Biggie, Carlos Santana, Charles Sheen, Oliver Stone, all your damn celebrities have been arrested and charged with drug possession. Other celebs have broken the law. Michael Jackson touched your kids, OJ Simpson murdered his wife, yet you people judge a man just because he is homeless. Difference between Ted and everyone else, he didnt have the money to support his drug habbits, they do. Difference between Ted and your movie stars, theyre still snortin coke and he is clean. You point your fingers at another person because you are afraid to point your finger at yourself. You find flaws in other people because deep down you are afraid to find the flaws in yourself. You judge Ted Williams because deep down you are insecure about yourself. Stop worrying and trying to make the man look bad and worry about yourself. If you have the time to point your fingers, why not have the time to make yourself a better person. I dont see him pointing his finger at you. I've bet you people done sh*t your regret in your life time. I know I have. Im buddhist and i believe in second chances. The difference between Buddhism and lets say Christianity (i know most of you are) is that Buddha teaches "endless" second chances, and Christianity teaches "a man is appointed to live once." He deserves a second chance, I am sure you people have gotten a second chance, third, forth, fifth chances, and so on. I know I have. After becoming homeless he stilled tried to live on his dreams, he was honest and he wanted a job. He is contributing, what are you doing? Nothing except wasting your time trying to bring this man down, thats for sure.
You make a couple good points that morality is a sliding scale, but that's not what is really happening here. If you want to correctly associate William's life of crime with the celebrities you point out, perhaps this might make a better argument: break the law if you can afford it. If you cannot afford it: do not break the law. But, this is what is most upsetting about your response: " After becoming homeless he stilled tried to live on his dreams, he was honest and he wanted a job." This is patently false. He committed crimes for TWENTY YEARS and then he chose (made a rational decision) to accept a god into his life that provided him structure. He could have made that choice two years ago or five or ten. He is being judged and will be judged because of the choices he made in his life. He is responsible for his misdeeds and must accept the responsibility for being judged for them. That is how society works. I am judged every single day for my actions and my interpersonal relationships and I accept that responsibility as a functioning member of society. If I do a bad job I am judged and then I have no job. If I mistreat my friends or family then I may no longer have friends and family. Ted Williams must be judged on his actions: past, present and future.
First of all he isn't being judged for being homeless. He's being judged for being a sleazy criminal. Your own "but I've never committed rape or murder" is interesting. The fact that you behaved like a lowlife but have given it up of late is commendable and congratulations! That doesn't change the fact that you are a person inclined to be a sleaze if the mood strikes you and is why businesses do background checks. As to the rest of it. He's not honest, the twelve mug shots attest to that. And, if you consider pimping your woman outside Lowes last month, turning over a new leaf, then I guess we all ought to give him a big congratulatory hug.
PS As you can see, I've developed a drug habit myself, wasted one full year at college doing drugs and partying. Look at me now, the millionth chance i got, I am enrolled as a full time medical student at Uconn Med school in farmington connecticut. Have a little faith and stop judging.
PS And...if you commit any felonies along the way you will be a horse doctor. If your mommy and daddy want to keep paying your tuition that's fine with me pal but I don't have to give a free pass to a criminal.
too bad in the real world my mommy and daddy dont pay sh*t for my college tuition, your mommy and daddy probably did for you. I come from a low class family hard working family, and as soon as a came to college i screwed my life up. NOT even out of college and i already screwed up. He graduated from school and got a real job, he was successful until all that sh*t happened to him. Getting out of a drug addiction is easier said than done, you haven't gone through that sh*t sure you will never will and thats good for you but we are all still human beings. What's done is done, hes there, you're not, you may think you're above him but truth is he's on top of you. Quit your crying and go do something productive and make use of your talent like he is. You may not give him a free pass but the people have spoken and he did.
I picked up right away that you came from as you put it, "a low class family". Most poor people are not "low class", they are just short on money. "Low Class" is a state of mind and explains why as soon as you got to college you screwed up and wasted a year getting drunk and doing drugs. Of course I'm above him! I'm above anyone who was a few weeks ago pimping his woman or someone taking drugs and getting drunk and wasting a year of college tuition. That's just the way it is. Throw yourself a pity party friend. However, there is classy behavior and no-class behavior and you can be standing in line at a soup kitchen and have a lot more class than the clowns here excusing criminal behavior as a "bad choice". Own it.
Yeah, he did shiatty stuff but as long as he's stopped, who gives a sh*t? If he did the crime and he did the time, shouldn't that be enough? Justice is not sentencing someone to a prison after prison by shunning them. I feel bad for an acquaintance of mine who was jailed for drug trafficking (apparently he owed someone) because it always seems like he is compensating by keeping on repeating that he's a "nice guy" and going out of his way to do "gentlemanly" things for women because it is "right." I think it's a bit cheesy and I feel bad that he actually has to go out of his way to appear normal because of his record. If the guy is remorseful, and did his time, who cares? I also agree that there should be harsh punishment for certain crimes. I do think stealing is one of those--I have never stolen despite realizing that people steal, even small things, all the time--my friends, acquaintances and even parents (!) (my mom stole a ricecake when hungry from a girl selling them in Vietnam) have admitted to me stealing something at least once in their life. At the same time, if some time has passed and they want to move on, why not let them? These guys keep citing the Bible but doesn't Jesus also preach forgiveness? Obviously these guys lack that... Remember he was operating on drugs... After you get addicted, your personality changes. Drugs aid in making you do things you normally wouldn't. (Ex. those guys who kill their wives cuz they get 'roid rage?) When you are addicted you take way more so its not like casually drinking a beer--its like blackout drinking. Not saying he shouldn't do the time on that though. BTW I'm happy about the taxes I pay. You conservatives REALLY need to start being less nepotistic (C's only care about their own families and no one else). It's really disgusting how much hate you harbor for people by refusing Christian charity but then preach the word of God. Nepotism is absolutely abhorrent. We might as well be in the ***ing Middle Ages.
Us conservatives invented Christian Charity. For the most part I agree with your remarks though. However, before we let bygones be bygones, lets not forget that he was engaging in criminal behavior A FEW WEEKS AGO. But, who knows, perhaps now that he is the winner of liberals latest pity lottery, he's turned over a whole new leaf and is no longer the man he was last week.
Ted should run for POTUS with that disarming, endearing voice of his. After all, America fell for one smooth talking fraud in Obama, why not another?
Listen, everyone, we all as normal law abiding citizens--that haven't ever been homeless for any length of time--can sit back and be arm chair quarterbacks, and thus judge this person, that's very easy to do, to be on the outside looking in. And I'm sure Mr. Ted Williams has made his share of mistakes--I even heard yesterday that the guy has 7 or 9 children!? However, let's all wish him every success at his new endeavor and let's hope he can stay on the straight and narrow!? Because judging from his past that seems like it's going to be a real challenge for him to do. The media also needs to let his story go because for a person like him--with that past and all--the media attention is going to cause plenty of unforseen difficulty. So, Mr. Ted Williams, I for one wish you the best of luck and success.
Listen sport.... the reason the rest of us haven't been homeless and featured with 12 booking photos on The Smoking Gun is not because we were lucky or god blessed us with good fortune. It's because we aren't bottom-feeding, slime-bag criminals. That's all.
HA!
Listen sport, the reason why you aren't homeless and not featured with 12 booking photos on the smoking gun is because you probably come from a little nice suburban family with money. Also the world doesn't care about you enough for you to be on here, why should you care about him. Sure he's committed and you can consider him a "criminal" but aren't we all deep down inside?
When the tuition money runs out and you get out into the real world you will find that most people are honest good folks whether they come from poverty or wealth. Being a thief, dead-beat dad and pimping your woman aren't a symptom of poor cash flow. They are symptoms of scum bags.
A loser that abandoned his nine children so he could develop a crack problem has a smooth voice...so people give him stuff. Sounds like we got some Oscar winning material here folks. I'm thinking Jaime Foxx would be perfect for the role. What this story has become makes me want to vomit. I just want to quit hearing about him until he relapses and lands back in jail. However, I do have to say that I admire the man a little bit. That montage of mug shots is truly awesome. You can almost tell what he's addicted to or high on in each shot. Plus, he does truly have one of the smoothest voices I've ever heard. I wonder what he would charge to officiate my wedding? You know what, I've just changed my own mind. I hope he does stay sober and quits being a bum. Good for him.
How many of you ALWAYS made the RIGHT choices and NEVER made any mistakes? While being down and out and trying to survive anyway a person can is not doing the right thing, i.e.; stealing, robbing, etc., until YOU have been there, lost your spouse, your home, your job, EVERYTHING, you have NO idea what that will force some people to do. Let 'he/she' who is WITHOUT sin, cast the first stone! How will YOU explain your life, come Judgment Day?
I didn't always make the right choices and have made mistakes. Oddly enough, none of my mistakes were ever called "FELONIES" and none of my choices involved abandoning my children. I must be some sort of saint I guess.
He didn't "lose" his job, his wife, a piano fell on his head, locusts ate his lunch. He walked away from his family and did drugs, robbed and stole from people and became a huge pain in the ass to society.
It's called surviving. You do what you need to. Is it ok to steal? No. Do I want someone to steal from me? No. But if faced with withering away and dying or committing petty crimes, you bet your cheeks that I'll be turning into the damn hamburgler with a quickness.
That is because you are also weak, Jesse. Strong people do what they have to do to survive LEGALLY. Homeless shelters, any job that will take him...etc. And the guy was making by his own admission $15-20 an hour panhandling, and by some estimates as much as $30 an hour. With no bills to pay, where did all that money go if not toward drugs and alcohol. $15 an hour for even 2 hours is more than enough to buy his food.
No sport. Surviving is what the rest of us do. If we have to, we take any job at all. Sweep floors, flip burgers or work at 7/11. We also don't make 8 or 9 kids we can't support, do crack or commit felonies.
I don't think some people here understand the meaning of "surviving" because they lived perfect lives with perfect friends & family. They don't know anyone ever who has fallen on hard times whether it be through drugs, alcohol, domestic violence or even gambling. These are the same people who think just because they pay their 28% in taxes that are doing their part to help the less fortunate.
Surviving and being a criminal are two different things. If the people in your life have turned to crime and drugs when they were in hard times, then it's because you hang out with criminals and druggies. As to the 28% of my income that goes to support these sorts of people? I may give it up, but I don't think that people like this deserve a nickel or a bit of my pity.