On January 8, 2026, officers responded to a domestic-abuse-in-progress call at [ADDRESS REDACTED] in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Upon arrival, officers met with an adult female (“Victim”) and an adult male, WILLIAM BERNARD HOOKS, born on [DOB REDACTED], Defendant herein. Victim reported that she and Defendant were exes that had been living together for several weeks. On January 7 around 10:00 P.M., Victim [NAME REDACTED] had a verbal dispute when she asked Defendant to move out of her residence.
Defendant became aggressive and punched Victim on the right side of her face with his right hand in a closed fist. Around 2:00 A.M. On January 8, the parties had another verbal argument. Defendant then went and stood over Victim [NAME REDACTED] on her inflatable mattress on the floor. This caused Victim to fear for her life, and she described “walking on eggshells” to avoid further provoking Defendant. Eventually, Victim [NAME REDACTED] went to the building lobby. Defendant refused to leave and refused to remove his property from the lobby.
Victim told officers that if they did not find a firearm on Defendant’s person, they would find one in one of his bags containing personal items because he “always” has weapons on him. Defendant told officers that Victim was his ex-girlfriend with whom he had been staying with for about 30 days. Defendant explained that the parties had been drinking. At some point, Victim became upset with Defendant upon learning that another woman had purchased cigarettes for Defendant. Victim told Defendant that he needed to leave but that he could stay until the next morning when his sister could pick him up.
Victim [NAME REDACTED] at Defendant and told him that he needed to leave that night. Defendant grabbed his belongings and sat on a chair in the third-floor hallway. Victim then told Defendant that he needed to leave the building. Defendant then grabbed his belongings, including a large black garbage bag, and went down to the lobby. After learning that Victim had called 911, Defendant stated that he called 911 to protect himself. Defendant repeatedly told the officer that he did not want any "smoke" or problems and that he wanted to leave with his belongings.
Defendant denied physically assaulting Victim. Officers arrested Defendant. Inside a backpack on Defendant’s person, officers located a box containing ammunition. Inside the personal bags that Defendant claimed ownership of and that he was standing next to when officers arrived, officers located a large pocketknife and a loaded black Ruger handgun. Defendant has prior felony convictions for crimes of violence under Minn. Stat. § 624.712, subd. 5, that prohibit him from possessing ammunition or firearms: • October 15, 2009 convictions for Domestic Assault by Strangulation and for Domestic Assault in court file #••-CR-••-••••; and • October 15, 2009 conviction for Fourth-Degree Controlled Substance Crime—Sale—in court file #27- CR-09-32539. In addition, Defendant has prior convictions for qualified domestic violence-related offenses within the last ten years: • December 16, 2024 conviction for gross misdemeanor Domestic Assault in court file #••-CR-••-••••; 3 ••-CR-••-•••• Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 1/9/2026 and • March 26, 2019 conviction for misdemeanor Domestic Assault in court file #••-CR-••-••••. Defendant is in custody.
