Sheriff: Inmate killed Wayne County corporal in attempt to escape jail

Deandre Williams faces multiple charges

WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – An inmate at the Wayne County Jail has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the deadly attack on Sheriff’s deputy Corporal Bryant Searcy.

Deandre Williams was charged on Wednesday in connection to the attack that happened last week. Officials said Williams jumped out of his cell and grabbed Searcy from behind, putting him in a chokehold for 20 to 30 minutes.

READ: Jail inmate charged with first-degree murder in deadly attack on Wayne County Sheriff’s corporal

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said Williams was willing to kill the deputy to try to escape. Williams was charged with premeditated murder, murder of a police officer, felony murder and escaping jail through violence. He was also charged with unarmed robbery for taking Searcy’s jail keys.

Police said Williams could not escape or even get off of the floor he was on. When deputies came to the scene, they found him in his cell.

There is an internal investigation into why Searcy and his partner were not together.

READ: Hear from daughter of corporal who was killed by inmate at Wayne County Jail


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Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.