NBA star Kawhi Leonard's sister charged in deadly robbery

Sunday, Sep 8, 2019 / News

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A relative of NBA star Kawhi Leonard has confirmed his sister is one of two women accused of robbing and killing an elderly woman at a Southern California casino.
 
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports the aunt of 35-year-old Kimesha Williams confirmed Saturday that Williams is the sister of the Los Angeles Clippers forward.
 



Authorities say Williams and an accomplice followed an 84-year-old woman into a bathroom at Pechanga Resort Casino on Aug. 31, broke her skull and stole her purse. The victim died Wednesday.
 
A Riverside County sheriff's investigator is asking a judge to keep Williams held without bail, saying she may flee and "has family that are well-off and could post her bail."
 
Leonard attended high school in the area. He led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship during the 2018-19 season before signing with the LA Clippers.

 



This undated photo released by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 shows Kimesha Williams. A relative of NBA star Kawhi Leonard has confirmed his sister, Kimesha Williams, is one of two women accused of robbing and killing an elderly woman at a Southern California casino. (Riverside County Sheriff's Department via AP)
 
A sister of NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard is one of two women charged with robbing and killing an 84-year-old woman at a Southern California casino, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Saturday.
 
Kimesha Monae Williams, 35, is being held without bail at the Indio (Calif.) Correction Facility after the incident at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula. Authorities say that on the morning of Aug. 31, Williams and Candace Tai Townsel, 39, attacked Afaf Anis Assad in a bathroom, broke her skull and then stole her purse.
 
Assad died Wednesday at a hospital, according to the newspaper.
 
Williams and Townsel were arrested Tuesday, according to the Press-Enterprise. Townsel also is being held without bail. Arraignment is slated for Sept. 19.
 
A Riverside County sheriff’s investigator asked a judge to hold Williams without bail, saying she might flee and that she “has family that are well-off and could post her bail,” an apparent reference to Leonard, who recently signed a three-year, $103 million with the Los Angeles Clippers.
  Williams and Townsel are also accused of stealing between $800 and $1,200 from Assad’s purse. Jail records list Williams as 6-foot-2, 320 pounds, and Townsel as 5-4, 195 pounds.
 
The Press-Enterprise reported that a doctor at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar told the investigator that the fatal injury could not have been caused by a fall.
 
It would have required “a great amount of force, such as being pushed, thrown or punched by a 320-pound person,” according to the investigator’s notes.
 
The newspaper said Williams has prior convictions for petty theft, grand theft, misappropriating lost property, grand theft auto and attempted robbery, according to court records.
 
Kawhi Leonard grew up in Riverside before becoming a college star at San Diego State and blossoming into one of the top NBA players. He led the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title this past season, winning NBA Finals MVP for the second time in his career. He also won the award with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
 
Leonard’s father, Mark, was a murder victim in 2008.

—Field Level Media
Source: dailymail




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