EBRSO deputy in training charged with arson and official misconduct, arrested

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – An East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office deputy in training was fired Friday following an arson investigation.

Otis Williams, 45, was arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. He is charged with two counts of aggravated arson, one count of abuse of office, one count of theft, one count of motor vehicle insurance and one count of arson with intent to defraud.

The sheriff's office said that on August 4, a 2017 Audi A7 driven by Otis Williams, a police officer assigned to EBRSO since January, caught fire at a business in the 6900 block of Siegen Lane. The incident was ruled arson, and the St. George Fire Department opened an investigation.

Fire officials identified McConnell Williams as a suspect in connection with the fire and issued an arrest warrant for aggravated arson. The lead arson investigator told EBRSO that Otis Williams “interacted with McConnell and may have been involved in the arson,” arrest documents state.

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Phone records showed McConnell Williams called Otis Williams on Aug. 3, but the call went unanswered. On August 4, Otis Williams and McConnell Williams were seen on camera parking their cars across from each other.

According to the arrest documents, McConnell Williams was seen purchasing gasoline before pouring it on Otis Williams' vehicle and setting it on fire. A few days later, Otis Williams received insurance money.

During an interview, Otis Williams admitted that he paid McConnell Williams $1,000 to damage the vehicle so he could “get the insurance money to pay for the car and then purchase a truck,” arrest documents state .

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