SAN DIEGO — San Ysidro High School basketball star Mikey Williams was arrested Thursday on multiple allegations of assault with a firearm in connection with a shooting last month in Jamul, sheriff's officials said.
Williams, 18, was released from San Diego Central Jail shortly after midnight on $50,000 bail. He is due in Superior Court in El Cajon for arraignment on April 20 at 8 a.m.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Friday that the shooting occurred just before midnight March 27 at a house on Bratton Valley Road in Jamul, an unincorporated area in the eastern part of the county. Williams purchased a 3,700-square-foot home there last summer for $1.2 million and was living in it with a teammate.
"There was a verbal argument about guests in the house being asked to leave," the sheriff's release said. "Five people got into a car and as they were driving away, shots were fired. The car was hit, but no one was hurt."
Three of the passengers in the car were minors, the release added.
The incident was reported to authorities the next day, and an investigation was launched.
"As part of the investigation," sheriff's Lt. Jeff Ford said in the news release, "a search warrant was served (Thursday) at the house in Jamul where the incident occurred."
Williams was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, then booked into the downtown San Diego jail at 3:24 p.m. The Sheriff's Department declined to release booking photographs, which are not public record in California.
Pat McCain, Williams' business adviser, declined comment when contacted via text.
Williams is among the nation's most recognizable prep basketball players, a social media sensation who turned that popularity into multimillion-dollar endorsement empire that includes a sneaker deal with Puma. On TikTok, his videos have generated a combined 321 million views. His Instagram account with 3.8 million followers, with posts showing him at his house or posing in front of exotic cars, was deactivated early Friday morning.
In November, Williams and San Ysidro teammate J.J. Taylor both committed to play at the University of Memphis next season.
The university issued a statement Friday morning, saying: "We are aware of the situation and are gathering more information."
Williams spent his freshman year at San Ysidro, scoring 41 points in his high school debut and 77 points in a game later that season. The Cougars would win the CIF-San Diego Section Division III title, and Williams was named the MaxPreps national freshman of the year.
Williams moved to North Carolina for his sophomore and junior years, then returned to the San Diego area last spring, moving into the Jamul home on five acres of land with a pool and tennis court. He played for San Ysidro as a senior, averaging 23.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game on an 18-13 team that lost in the semifinals of the CIF Open Division playoffs.
"The NBA is my goal," Williams told the Charlotte Observer in 2021. "I want to be one of the greatest players to play. I know I can get there. I just have to keep working."
