Serial rape suspect Sean Williams in custody: FBI

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(NewsNation) — A prison escapee who has been on the run for more than a month was taken into custody Tuesday in Florida, according to the FBI.

U.S. Marshal David Jolley exclusively told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield that authorities tracked Sean Williams down using a K-9 after he was sighted at a store in Pinellas County.

Jolley said that investigators discovered that Williams sold a car in Greenville, North Carolina sometime around Nov. 16.

“He (Williams) made his way … from North Carolina down to Pinellas County. And the night that he walked into this 7-Eleven, a clerk apparently recognized him there, called the police. They were able to move in on him and take him into custody. He was hiding somewhere close by the store,” Jolley said.

Banfield also spoke exclusively with that store clerk, Tasha Baumgartner, who alerted authorities. She recognized a tattoo that Williams had and confirmed it was him from a photo online.

“I just felt weird about it, so I rang him up. He bought a hot dog. And then I went outside and I followed sort of around the corner to see where he was going. And he disappeared. … I called the police and told them. He was in my store. I know he was,” Baumgartner said.

Police arrived a few minutes after Baumgartner alerted them.

Williams, who is facing multiple state and federal sex charges, had been missing for 34 days since escaping a prison van while being transported from a detention facility in Kentucky to a federal courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee.

Williams faces accusations of child pornography, child rape, aggravated sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor.  

He’s also charged federally with escape and attempted escape in connection with a an alleged July breakout attempt.

Williams is alleged to have drugged and raped several women at large parties fueled by drugs and alcohol he threw on the fifth floor of a downtown Johnson City, Tennessee, apartment building where Williams was, in effect, the landlord.

One of the victims, Mikayla Evans, who allegedly fell five floors from Williams’ home in 2020, reacted to the news on “Banfield.” She said she tried to contact Williams’ daughter, who she has a connection to, but she hasn’t heard back.

“I’m very, very excited. Like, that’s the best news ever,” Evans said Tuesday night.

Victims of Williams feared he would return to Johnson City after escaping the prison transport van, allegedly using a paperclip to free himself from handcuffs and kicking out the vehicle’s window.