Local basketball star Mikey Williams arrested on gun charges

San Ysidro High School basketball star Mikey Williams was arrested Thursday on multiple allegations of assault with a firearm in connection with a shooting last month in Jamul, sheriff’s officials said.

Williams, 18, was released from San Diego Central Jail shortly after midnight on $50,000 bail. He is due in Superior Court in El Cajon for arraignment on April 20 at 8 a.m.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said Friday that the shooting occurred just before midnight March 27 at a house on Bratton Valley Road in Jamul, an unincorporated area in the eastern part of the county. Williams purchased a 3,700-square-foot home there last summer for $1.2 million and was living in it with a teammate.

“There was a verbal argument about guests in the house being asked to leave,” the sheriff’s news release said. “Five people got into a car and as they were driving away, shots were fired. The car was hit, but no one was hurt.”

Three of the passengers in the car were minors, the release added.

The incident was reported to authorities the next day, and an investigation was launched.

“As part of the investigation,” sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Ford said in the news release, “a search warrant was served (Thursday) at the house in Jamul where the incident occurred.”

Williams was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, then booked into the downtown San Diego jail at 3:24 p.m. The Sheriff’s Department declined to release booking photographs, which are not public record in California.

Troy P. Owens Jr., a criminal defense attorney in San Diego, posted an open letter on his Instagram page late Friday afternoon saying he is representing Williams.

Owens said Williams “maintains his innocence” and provided their version of events referenced in the sheriff’s news release:

“This altercation was initiated by several uninvited individuals entering the home and causing a disturbance. During the aftermath of this disturbance, there were reports of shots being fired. Mr. Williams is alleged to match the description of the shooter. As a result, a search warrant was executed at the home and Mr. Williams was arrested.”

Owens added: “While this case has received significant attention in the last 24 hours, we ask that people appreciate the fact that Mr. Williams is an 18-year-old high school student. Harassment, threats, or any other behavior of the sort is unwarranted. We are aware of several narratives being advanced online that are not factual and are designed to humiliate Mr. Williams. We are confident that the truth will come to light.”

Williams is among the nation’s most recognizable prep basketball players, a social media sensation who transformed that popularity into multimillion-dollar endorsement empire that includes a sneaker deal with Puma. On TikTok, his videos have generated a combined 321 million views. His Instagram account has 3.8 million followers, with posts showing him at his house or posing in front of exotic cars. It was deactivated early Friday morning.

In November, Williams and San Ysidro teammate JJ Taylor both committed to play at the University of Memphis next season. The university issued a statement Friday morning, saying: “We are aware of the situation and are gathering more information.”

The 6-foot-3 Williams is the son of Mahlon Williams, a legendary high school player from Sweetwater High School in the 1980s who once scored 51 points in a game. Mikey was born in 2004, and by age 12 he was already dunking. By eighth grade, he was a national phenomenon for video posts of his athletic feats on the court.

“I remember when he started his Instagram account,” McCain told the Charlotte Observer in 2021. “He was in my house. He said, ‘Unc, you gotta get IG. I have 743 followers. I’m trying to get to a thousand.’”

Williams spent his freshman year at San Ysidro, scoring 41 points in his high school debut and 77 points in a game later that season. The Cougars would win the CIF-San Diego Section Division III title, and Williams was named the MaxPreps national freshman of the year.

Williams and his father moved to North Carolina for his sophomore and junior years at the suggestion of McCain, who is Mahlon’s cousin.

Williams first played for Lake Norman Christian High School, a growing basketball powerhouse in Huntersville, N.C., that had nine members of the roster recruited by colleges. The following year, Mahlon Williams and McCain set up Vertical Academy, a glorified club program that didn’t play in sanctioned high school leagues, had no home gym and had players take classes online at Lake Norman Christian.

Vertical Academy fell apart, and Mikey Williams and McCain returned to San Diego last spring while Mahlon Williams remained in North Carolina tending to business interests there. In August, a few weeks after his 18^th birthday, Williams moved into the $1.2 million Jamul home on five acres of land with an infinity-edged pool and a tennis court.

He played for San Ysidro as a senior, even though it is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District and his Jamul address is technically in the Grossmont district. Taylor, a 6-7 forward and also a highly-rated prep prospect, transferred to San Ysidro in October to create what many projected as one of the state’s top teams.

Williams averaged 23.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, and Taylor averaged 25.5 points and 7.3 rebounds. But the Cougars finished only 18-13, didn’t win their South Bay league and lost in the semifinals of the CIF Open Division playoffs to eventual champion St. Augustine.

While Williams’ basketball career sputtered after a record-breaking freshman season, his business ventures soared. He helped rapper Drake launch an international clothing line in 2020. He received a red Corvette as a 16^th birthday present. In July 2021, he signed with Excel Sports Management, a marketing agency that represents dozens of pro athletes and celebrities.

“Thanks to a combination of hoops, hustle and swag,” an Excel press release said, “Mikey is one of the most engaging elite youth athletes with a reputation and skillset that is off the charts. He represents today’s zeitgeist, with a community of followers he has developed through creative, coveted and compelling content.”

Soon, Williams was in a commercial for the NBA 2K22 video game with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. He signed a multiyear contract to endorse Puma, which said in an email Friday that it “has no comment at this time.” He launched his own channel on WEIV, a premium social media platform, at a poolside party in a swank Atlanta hotel during the BET Hip Hop Awards Week.

“I feel like I’m in a simulation sometimes,” Williams told the Charlotte Observer.