In the months he has sat in jail charged with a slew of crimes including sexual assault, aggravated assault and indecency with a child, a review of applications for the the rental shows that alleged predator Billy Woolley was also seeking money from the government for the rent he would be owed. for scattered “houses” at an Old Dowlen address that equates to a row of numbered storage sheds.
According to a search of the Jefferson County Property and Tax List Database, Woolley holds title to 10 private properties and a parking lot on Calder Avenue. He owes over $50,000 in total outstanding taxes.
According to four indictments obtained in March 2021 against Woolley, the then 48-year-old allegedly sexually exposed himself to a minor in 2005, raped a woman in 2016, and choked and fired a gun at a woman with whom he was going out. in 2018. Those charges followed a misdemeanor charge that was still pending when Woolley went on the loose, according to Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Tatiana Zelezniak, who said Woolley’s June 2021 arrest — months after the four felony indictments – was made in California, even though the case started on the other side of the United States.
“It all started with a call from Jersey,” Zelezniak offered during a hearing in October 2021. Zelezniak said the incident was initiated as a harassment case “which exploded from there.”
“She was a babysitter,” Zelezniak said of the complaining victim. “He put her in a relationship, controlled her… threatened her with guns, scared her into leaving him. That’s why it took so many years before it was reported, before she could walk away from him.
Zelezniak’s comment was provided in an effort to keep Woolley behind bars instead of bonds totaling $400,000 for the four felony charges, an amount she said was at least high enough to prevent the suspicious of fleeing again. Wooley and his attorney were seeking a bail reduction to allow the defendant to be released from the Jefferson County Jail where he was being held.
Allegations of sexual assault, abuse and anger issues, and dominance over people who allege he was victimized have plagued Woolley for years, Zelezniak said.
“Not only the plaintiff,” added the prosecutor, “but other people have come forward … with their own experiences of his assault over a period of time.”
Zelezniak countered the defense attorney’s list of “good deeds” demanded by his client with a long list of alleged victims shot dead after being exposed to such seemingly selfless efforts.
Woolley called himself “the sober trainer of a recovering alcoholic neurologist”, when he was apprehended in California for the crimes allegedly committed in Jefferson County and the East Coast.
“I lead them down the path that I found that gave me relief,” Woolley said. But, to show the court his ties to Southeast Texas, the defendant also explained his ability to earn money locally, highlighting real estate ownership and a used car business. Woolley also boasted that his real estate was money-making in a taped video provided by one of his alleged victims.
“What you don’t understand is that you are going to leave and my life will remain the same,” a man attributed to Woolley can be heard saying. “I will always have houses to rent (expletive); I will still have income; I’ll always have a home — and I’ll have a dead German Shepherd in the front yard because I’ll probably shoot him as soon as you leave me.
With the attachment of a GPS monitoring device, a promise to have no contact with the complaining victims and an order to stay home when not working, Woolley was released on bail half that which was originally required.
“These allegations are most serious,” the judge warned when reducing bail. “If you have been convicted of each of these offences, you are looking at a sentence of up to 60 years in prison. So I don’t think I need to explain in detail how serious this is. This should make you think twice, thrice – before committing any wrongdoing.
“I’ll take quick action if necessary. You better follow the rules to the letter.
Last week, according to County Auditor Patrick Swain, his office was contacted by the representative of the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission which administers the county’s finance lease assistance program. Jefferson.
“This person had made claims – a landlord who had applied for housing assistance,” Swain said. “It started from a justice of the peace’s office about an eviction hearing. They never came back to him, probably because he was sitting in our jail for something.
The investigation led to the revelation that Woolley, who had applied for rent assistance but had not properly signed the documents due to his incarceration, was applying for rent assistance for tenants who would have paid $1,000 a month for property listed on the tax rolls as carports from 1978.
Swain said the request was referred to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation. To his knowledge, Woolley has not received any money from the local rental assistance program, but his office is still awaiting the results of the $22 million in rental assistance funneled into the area from a simultaneous program.
Additionally, as Regional Planning Commission rental assistance records revealed, criminal Mary Bond, under investigation for allegedly attempting to extort rent money from elected officials and election candidates, also asked the county to pay his rent. In Bond’s case, the rent check was granted – Bond’s landlord, the Richey Group of Lumberton, receiving a $6,800 grant on Bond’s behalf.
Swain said the program uncovered several scammers, such as an application containing the forged signature of a local judge, but most of the funding recipients are genuinely qualified for assistance.
“The scammers are everywhere,” Swain said. “Every program is going to have that, but you want to make sure as best you can that the funding gets to the right people who need it. Hopefully 80%, 90% goes to the right place.