Former Ohio State defensive back Marcus Williamson was charged Thursday with 23 felony counts stemming from a series of bank robberies he committed throughout March and April. He faces 17 counts of robbery, six counts of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor, according to the Franklin County grand jury indictment.
According to police and court records, Williamson, 25, was cited for nine bank robberies that took place on March 7, March 15, March 21, March 29, April 3, April 8, April 10 and April 24. Each incident included the suspect showing a note to a bank teller which demanded that he or she empty the drawer of all its $20, $50 or $100 bills, all while also informing the teller that he was armed.
Williamson was only arrested for his ninth and final bank robbery on April 24, which occurred at First Merchants Bank on High Street at around 10:40 a.m. Columbus police officers observed him commit the crime and took him into custody shortly after he fled the scene, and he was kept in captivity in Franklin County jail up until the ruling.
Detectives had been closely monitoring Williamson prior to his arrest, and even secured a search warrant to put a tracking device on his vehicle as he traveled throughout Franklin County.
Williamson, who played at Ohio State from 2017-21 and was the team’s starting safety from 2020-21, does not yet have another court date set, according to court records.
