Crime & Safety

Man Arrested After Alleged Homeless Shelter Assault

The victim told police he sustained an orbital fracture in the attack.

Haverford Police arrested a man with no fixed address earlier this month after they say he assaulted a man at a church homeless shelter.

John H. Williams, 27, was charged with simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct in connection with the November 13 incident.

According to court documents, at 10:11 p.m. the night of the alleged incident, Haverford Police were dispatched to Manoa Presbyterian Church for a report of a fight.

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On location, the victim—an attendee of the church’s homeless shelter—told police that Williams, without provocation, began shouting racial slurs at him. The victim said that after a resulting argument the two men were separated, but Williams then charged him and punched him in the face; causing injury to his left eye.

Williams had already left the scene by the time police arrived.

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The following day, the victim came to Haverford Police headquarters and provided an officer five eyewitness statements corroborating his version of the assault. He also told police that he had suffered an orbital fracture from the punch.

On November 15, Williams left a message with police claiming that he wished to file his own report of an assault, and left a number for them to call him back at. The number belonged to his mother, who told police she had kicked Williams out of the house for theft and added that she believed he had an open warrant related to a previous fight. Police confirmed this.

Williams was arrested on December 4 and confined to Delaware County Prison when he was unable to post bail. He faces preliminary hearing on December 20.


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