A light in the hallway outside TV weatherman Rob Williams’ bedroom woke him up around 3:30 a.m. June 4, and it took him a few seconds to realize a man he’d known more than a decade was in the house without permission.
Within a half minute or so Williams — a meteorologist at WJHL-TV — had a crossbow bolt sticking from his chest and was trying to keep Gerald Taylor, who he described as his roommate from getting into the bathroom. Taylor, 53, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, especially aggravated burglary and violation of an order of protection on the TV weatherman.
Williams, whose real name is Robert William Batot, described the attack in a court hearing Tuesday. The charges against Taylor were bound over to a grand jury after General Sessions Judge James Nidiffer listened to the testimony.
Read the expanded version of this report at the Johnson City Press Web site.