Troy Williams appeared, by all accounts, to be an ambitious, talented San Diego chef.
He ran the kitchen for more than a decade at Miss B’s Coconut Club, a Mission Beach neighborhood spot. He appeared in live TV cooking demos and was featured in local magazines. In one, he even shared his “life’s lessons” for Black History Month.
But the U.S. Marshals Service says it was all a fake identity he had cooked up to avoid prosecution for a long-ago crime.
Authorities arrested him at his restaurant on Oct. 6, saying he had been on the run for the past 14 years for a violent kidnapping. The U.S. Marshals Service said investigators learned in September that Williams was living under a false name in San Diego.
They say the 50-year-old’s real name is Brian Anthony Williams. Davenport, Iowa, prosecutors charged him in 2012. He and co-conspirators allegedly kidnapped, assaulted, and shot Brittany Hamilton, then left her in a field.
He is expected to be extradited to Iowa to face charges related to the incident, including first-degree kidnapping, assault, conspiracy to commit a felony, and first-degree arson. He also faces an additional charge of unlawful flight for allegedly fleeing Iowa.
“This is so wild, like Netflix-style wild. The Troy we knew was a vegan, straight edge,” Eddie Jurado told NBC San Diego. Jurado, the restaurant’s general manager and Williams’ former roommate, said no one suspected a fugitive in their midst.
“He was loved by everybody,” he said.
The U.S. Marshals Service said that in September 2026, investigators learned Williams was living under a false name in San Diego.
Back in Iowa, he was in the news for a different reason. Local television news programs in the Quad-City area of southeast Iowa and northwest Illinois broadcast his picture and description during “Most Wanted” segments, asking viewers for help to locate him. A quick search under his real name turned up his mugshot and criminal charges on the U.S. Marshals Service website.
Online commenters were stunned by his sheer “audacity.” One commenter marveled: “You know how bold u gotta be to go on…TV when you’re wanted for assault?” Another joked, “Note to self; when on the run from the police, don’t appear on a cooking segment.”
A third had a different take: “This man done forgot he committed a crime.”
