Salinas man convicted for beating hotel manager and asking police to shoot him

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- A man was found guilty of assaulting a Salinas hotel manager and resisting arrest in August of 2021, according to Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni.

Jerome Williams, 42, of Salinas, was found guilty of assault likely to cause significant bodily injury, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, and resisting an executive officer with force, all of which are felonies. The jury also found that Williams inflicted great bodily injury on the Salinas hotel manager, said Pacioni.

In August of 2021, Williams lived at the hotel and argued with the landlord-tenant. This dispute led to Williams telling a staff member that he would "beat the ****" out of whoever came to ask him to leave at the end of the month, said Pacioni.

The next day, the hotel manager saw Williams smoking and asked him not to threaten staff members. Williams went over to the manager and punched him multiple times, according to Pacioni.

The manager suffered a concussion, significant bruising, a laceration requiring medical intervention, and other injuries and was taken to the hospital, according to the DA. A witness then called 911.

When police arrived, Williams went to his room and retrieved a large knife. He then walked toward the responding officer with the knife, said Pacioni.

He was asked multiple times to drop the knife. Williams ignored the orders and told the officer, " Shoot me, ***********," according to the DA.

The officer walked back more than 100 feet, trying to avoid having to shoot Williams and de-escalate the situation. Williams continued to challenge the officer to shoot him until another officer came and tased him, said Pacioni.

Williams will be sentenced on Oct. 4 and faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in prison.