Family of Abilene ‘most wanted’ returns home following Thursday SWAT arrest

[Editor’s note: The suspect’s wife has requested that she and her children not be directly identified to protect their safety and privacy at this difficult time.]

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – For more than three hours, on Thursday afternoon, the Abilene Police Department (APD) SWAT team was engaged in a standoff with Joshua Williams, one of Abilene’s Most Wanted Fugitives.

Officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant when Williams barricaded himself inside his South Abilene home along the 3000 block of Heritage Lane. He was taken into APD custody without incident around 2:30 p.m. KTAB/KRBC returned to that neighborhood just a few hours later, speaking with neighbors who witnessed the scene, as well as the suspect’s wife and children, who were not home at the time as they returned to their home, frightened for what they might find.

Just a few doors down from the SWAT situation, Melissa Robinson had just returned home as the scene was escalating. She said she didn’t realize what was going on when she initially came home around noon, but the severity of the situation sank in about an hour later when she saw a drone overhead and heard commands over the megaphone coming from the rapidly increasing police presence.

“I was pretty impressed with the way that they handled it. It seemed pretty peaceful,” Robinson said.

Upon seeing the drone, she retrieved her phone and began filming the standoff for the next three hours. She also shared her view on Facebook Live, connecting with the suspect’s wife through social media. Robinson said it was sometime before 2 p.m. that she went back inside after hearing and smelling what she believes to be gas being deployed into Williams’ home.

“I was doing a live feed and I was like ‘Oh goodness, I better stop’. Shortly after that, I smelled the gas and saw it, and I knew I needed to head inside.

The KTAB/KRBC crew was able to capture the moment that Williams was taken into APD custody. It was just a few hours later that Williams’ wife and her children reached out to Robinson to ask if the scene was clear so that they could assess damage and return home.

The air that wafted from the front door still stung her senses as they saw the aftermath of the incident for the first time. Currently, they are still searching for one missing pup. Williams’ wife says she is extremely grateful for Robinson’s support. Unsure, she says, how she and her family would have been able to face that scene on their own.

“It was helpful to know that somebody did care to respond to me…She willingly let my kids go inside her home. Get them out of the heat,” said William’s wife.

Williams was booked into the Taylor County Jail, where he remains charged with Injury to a Child, a 2nd degree felony charge, and a motion to revoke his probation that had been previously filed.