Judges reject appeal of man who assaulted two women at Walmart

WARREN -- An appeals court affirmed an aggravated robbery conviction against a city man who argued his case lacked supporting evidence.

Judges from the 11th District Court of Appeals ruled against Omar S. Williams.

Williams, 29, will continue to serve his 33 to 38.5 year sentence, handed down by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Rice, at Mansfield Correctional Institution. He will have a parole hearing in 2055.

Williams was found guilty in February 2023 on charges of first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree felonious assault, both of which carry repeat violent offender specifications. Williams also was found guilty on charges of third-degree abduction and disrupting public services and misdemeanor domestic violence.

In his appeals claim, Williams argued that his conviction for aggravated robbery was not supported with sufficient evidence and argued the injuries inflicted on a Walmart employee were not done while committing a theft.

The appellate judges, in a decision written by Judge Matt Lynch and backed by Judges Robert Patton and Eugene A. Lucci disagreed.

At trial, statements by Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman recapped the day of the assault, May 17, 2022, which included surveillance footage of the assault and excerpts from testimony by the Walmart employee and Williams' ex-girlfriend, who told jurors she tried to get away from the man after a series of beatings, threats and thefts that began in the woman's Austintown home in front of four children -- three of whom belonged to the victim.

A Walmart employee came to the victim's aid when she tried to get away from Williams, who was at an ATM in front of the Bazetta store. When Williams started to chase after the ex-girlfriend, the employee got in the way. The employee was pushed head first into a wooden and metal merchandise rack situated in one of the main aisles.

The Walmart employee suffered injuries that left her hospitalized for two weeks. She had a gash on her head that required stitches, a lacerated liver and a broken neck.