Arson Investigation Unravels Complex Crime in Polk County: Counterfeit Cash, Drugs, and Body of Missing Man

On December 23, 2023, Polk County firefighters responded to a house fire in the 100 block of Switcher Drive in the Lake Livingston Estates Subdivision. The blaze engulfed the single-wide mobile home of William McClain, a diesel mechanic. McClain was reported missing, prompting an investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Upon examination, authorities determined that the fire was deliberately set, marking it as a case of arson. Investigators, in collaboration with Texas Rangers, discovered that McClain’s residence had also been burglarized. Tyler Lance Williams and Jessey Erin Reeves were identified as suspects, believed to be in Liberty County.

New information emerged, leading investigators to a residence on St. Lucia Drive in the Point Blank area of San Jacinto County. The home, connected to Williams, was also believed to hold his girlfriend, Lindsey Carroll, as a hostage. San Jacinto County Sheriff Capers sought assistance from Montgomery County SWAT after Williams expressed a willingness to die.

Negotiators successfully secured Carroll’s release early in the standoff, while Williams was apprehended just after 5 pm. Inside the residence, authorities discovered 2,500 counterfeit $100 bills and a small quantity of methamphetamine. Carroll was taken into custody on charges of possession of a controlled substance and tampering with a government document.

Williams was transported to the Polk County Jail and charged with arson and burglary of a habitation. Reeves, who had been previously arrested on burglary charges, was already in custody.

The search for McClain concluded as Harris County Sheriff’s Divers found a body believed to be his in the Trinity River in Liberty County. The body was transported to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and identification, with preliminary indications suggesting he may have been shot.

Williams now faces an upgraded charge of Capital Murder by Terror or Threat, with a bond set at $1,000,000.00.