San Ysidro High School basketball star Mikey Williams pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony counts of assault with a firearm and shooting at an occupied vehicle stemming from a shooting that happened outside his home in Jamul.
Williams, an 18-year-old social media star with a multimillion-dollar endorsement portfolio who committed to play at the University of Memphis next season, was arrested last week in connection with the March 27 shooting.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, gunfire erupted just before midnight following an argument "about guests in the house being asked to leave."
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As a car occupied by five people — three of them minors — drove away, it was struck by gunfire, sheriff's officials say. However, no one inside the car was hit.
Williams entered his pleas remotely on Thursday morning via Microsoft Teams. He agreed to a Fourth Amendment waiver — which allows law enforcement to search his property and person without a warrant or probable cause — and agreed not to possess any firearms or ammunition. He was also ordered to stay away from the five alleged victims.
Three minors were passengers in the car that was shot at, the sheriff's department told NBC 7 the day after the shooting.
An investigation began that day after a report was filed with SDSO at the Rancho San Diego Sheriff's Station. A search warrant was eventually served at the home where the incident took place, according to deputies, and Williams was arrested on April 13.
Williams played his freshman and senior years at San Ysidro High School. His Instagram account, which had 3.8 million followers, was deactivated just after 1 a.m. on April 14.
Williams' defense attorney, Troy Owens, posted a statement online indicating that an altercation that broke out at Williams' home was "initiated by several uninvited individuals entering the home and causing a disturbance."
The attorney wrote that there were reports of gunshots being fired and Williams allegedly matched the description of the shooter.
However, Owens wrote, "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. Mr. Williams is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. He maintains his innocence and will cooperate with the criminal process."
Former NBA All-Star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, who is the head coach of the University of Memphis men's basketball team, declined to comment to the Memphis Commercial Appeal earlier this week regarding Williams' case, but said, "I'm going to continue to recruit ... as of right now, Mikey is still with us."
Williams, who remains out of custody on $50,000 bail, is due back in court on the morning of June 15, but he filed a request Thursday that would make his immediate court appearance unnecessary and could instead be represented by his legal team. He would, however, be required to appear either in-person or virtually for a preliminary hearing that is scheduled for June 29.
If convicted of all charges, Williams faces up to 28 years in prison.
