JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man involved in an attack that took place at a gas station pleaded guilty Monday to one count of felony battery.
Kevin Williamson, who was previously facing a misdemeanor battery charge that was upgraded following a review of facts and his criminal history, was at a University Boulevard gas station on May 16, 2022, when he got into an altercation that was caught on video with Rayme McCoy.
McCoy’s attorney requested the State Attorney’s Office to prosecute the case as a hate crime but the SAO said it didn’t have evidence that McCoy was “individually targeted” because of her race and because of her own actions just before the attack.
Details surrounding attack
The attack that happened on May 16 at a gas station on University Boulevard was recorded from store surveillance video and shared with News4JAX by McCoy.
Duval County court documents also provided more details about the attack.
McCoy told News4JAX that she walked into the gas station near her home and was followed by an older white man who was already involved in an argument with someone outside.
McCoy said the man was “ranting and raving” and using “racist” language and that at one point, the man walked toward the counter where McCoy was standing and she asked him to back up. That’s when the man said he had a gun in his car, McCoy said.
The video shared with News4JAX, which does not contain audio of the exchange, shows Williamson punching McCoy in the face at least 10 times before he walks out of the store. The video was also posted on social media and shared thousands of times.
(Warning: The video contains images that some might find disturbing.)
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News4JAX later obtained the unredacted arrest report, and it shows Williamson’s spontaneous utterance to police was, “Did you watch the whole video? She hit me first.”
Williamson said that the woman attacked him and stated that he “was in a Black town and asked what else was he supposed to do,” according to the report. Williamson said the woman was screaming at him, “stating that he was racist because of how he spoke to an ‘Iranian gentlemen’ outside,” according to the report. Williamson said the woman knocked several canned items off the counter, hitting him in the side and foot, and he stated, “That is what set him off,” according to the report. He said that he then struck her three times with an open hand on the side of her head and told police that he did not make any racial statements toward the woman, the report said.
News4JAX also obtained the arrest warrant, which contains reference to another racial comment. When Williamson came into the store to buy beers, the woman, after hearing his comments to the man outside, asked him to back away from her because he was standing too close, the warrant said. Williamson said words to the effect about her being “those people,” and told her he had a gun in his car and to not mess with him, according to the warrant. The woman yelled at Williamson that if he grabbed his gun or hit her, she would have someone come to the gas station to protect her, the warrant shows. They started to argue, according to the warrant, and at one point, Williamson “would not back away,” so the woman slapped a can of beer onto the ground. Williamson then “immediately started punching” her in the face several times and fled the store.
Records show Williamson has been a registered sex offender for over 30 years and had a repeat domestic violence injunction filed against him that was later dismissed. There were two aggravated assault charges, one of which was with a deadly weapon, and both were dropped, court records show.
Williamson is scheduled for sentencing in January.