Just three months after he got probation for choking a woman, an Augusta man is being sought for a more brutal attack on another woman – his girlfriend.
William Walter Thomas, 25, is wanted for aggravated assault and kidnapping in a crime early Sunday that left the victim hospitalized at Piedmont Hospital.
Authorities say the suspect and the victim are homeless and were arguing around 1 a.m. Sunday along Deans Bridge Road. When it turned physical, the 23-year-old victim tried to call 911, but Thomas took the phone and dragged her through the woods by her neck to a storage container along the 2700 block of Deans Bridge Road.
Thomas allegedly kicked and struck his girlfriend in the face and rib area, and then hit her back with a metal bar. She tried to run away, but Thomas dragged her back, choked her until she was unconscious and brought her to a tent in the woods. He is accused of holding her against her will before she ultimately escaped and got help.
The victim was listed in stable condition at Piedmont Hospital.
The crime comes just three months after a judge gave Thomas 12 months of probation for another domestic violence incident, which occurred in 2023. In that case, he pleaded guilty to pinning down a different woman and choking her. The sentence was given by Judge Robert Hunter III.
Thomas is known to frequent the area of Gordon Highway near the old Regency Mall and Kissingbower Road. Thomas is considered to be armed and dangerous, authorities said.
Anyone that comes in contact with William Thomas or has any information as to his whereabouts is asked to contact Inv. Tanner Baughman or any on call investigator at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at 706-821-1097 or 706-821-1020.
