Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A sheriff's deputy in training allegedly paid a man to set fire to his car, then fraudulently collected the insurance payout, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. Otis Williams, 45, was arrested Friday on two counts of aggravated arson and one count each of arson with the intent to defraud, theft, and malfeasance in office, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. He had been training with the department for eight months prior to his termination.
Williams is accused of paying another man $1,000 to total his 2017 Audi A7. He allegedly planned to use the money to purchase a truck to start a trash business, the release states. On Aug.
4, Williams' Audi caught fire in the parking lot of Twin Peaks on Siegen Lane. The incident was deemed to be arson by St. George Fire Protection, which began an investigation.
Investigators identified McConnell Williams, 44, as the arson suspect. The two men are not related. On the day of the fire, Otis Williams was seen on camera moving his car to various parking spots in the lot on Siegen Lane, according to an arrest affidavit provided by the Sheriff's Office.
McConnell Williams was seen on camera in the lot at the same time before purchasing gas at a nearby convenience store. He was seen on camera pouring the gas on the Audi and setting fire to it, the affidavit states. On Aug.
14, Otis Williams received an insurance payout for the totaled car. Phone reco.