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Shortly after 9:00 a.m. EDT on July 1, 2024, the sanctity of a Gresham, South Carolina home was shattered by the entry of a 180-pound intruder.
According to investigators, “Victim #1” was working from home when a black man forcibly entered her laundry room. Though only 5-foot-7, the complete and total stranger moved towards her slowly — ignoring every demand to stop.
Panicked, the 49-year-old backed away, threw open her front door and pleaded with him to leave.
But the intruder had other plans.
“[He] closed [the front door] and started choking her with his two hands,” investigators noted. “Victim #1 tried to get loose, but the [intruder] ripped her sweater and pulled both the sweater and t-shirt off her.”
The attack escalated until a handyman outside caught sight of the struggle. He purportedly rushed into the home, grabbed a chair and prepared to strike.
But before he could swing — the intruder changed course.
“[He] then turned around and started going after [the handyman],” submitted investigators.
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The suspect — who was later determined to have alcohol in his system — was forced outside, but the violence didn’t stop there.
As the struggle spilled into the front yard, an incoming neighbor used his white 2018 GMC pickup to block the intruder’s vehicle, cutting off his escape.
At 9:17 a.m. EDT, deputies of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) were dispatched to the scene.
“Prior to arrival, dispatch advised deputies [the intruder] stole [the neighbor’s] pickup,” reported MCSO. “They advised us, [the intruder] left towards Highway 41A.”
More than half an hour later, as deputies were gathering information from Victim #1, her neighbor’s $18,000 vehicle was located at the Park & Blow Handy Mart off US-378.
The suspect, who appears to have been employed by the gas station in 2022, was still inside the vehicle.
His name: Robert Lee Willis Jr., 46, of Gresham, S.C.
Portrayed as a proud father and grandfather on Facebook, the Pee Dee native does not appear to have ever faced allegations of a violent crime — until that morning. Arrested and charged with second degree assault and battery, burglary and motor vehicle theft, he was transported via convoy to the Marion County detention center.
There, he added another felony to the list.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. EDT, more deputies were dispatched to the county’s detention center — in reference to yet another assault at the alleged hands of Willis.
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According to an MCSO incident report, Willis attacked a detention center nurse while being booked.
“[The nurse] was standing at the booking desk when he went after [her],” noted yet another investigator. “Willis, while in handcuffs, put [the nurse] in a choke hold and would not let go.”
Surveillance footage reviewed by MCSO showed multiple officers struggling to rip Willis off his victim. Even in handcuffs, it took several detention center deputies to force him to the ground and restrain him, according to investigators.
“Deputies then placed [Willis] into a restraint chair,” noted the incident report. “For safety purposes.”
The following morning, after dominating local headlines, Willis appeared before Marion County Magistrate Cheryl Graham. He was denied bond on all charges.
According to an inmate search, Willis was eventually placed in Block B-Seg — what appears to be a solitary confinement unit reserved for inmates deemed too dangerous for the general population.
Eight months later, he returned home.
Court filings obtained by FITSNews reveal Willis recently posted an exceedingly lenient $75,000 personal recognizance bond set by S.C. circuit court judge William H. Seals, Jr. First elected by the S.C. General Assembly in 2009, the at-large judge ordered Willis to “strict house arrest” at a property on the 1700 block of Oakridge Road in Gresham S.C.
While the significance of the property remains unclear, its location is incontestable. Willis — now under GPS monitoring — is just six minutes from the woman he allegedly terrorized, beat and strangled last summer.
“The court takes notice of the victim’s justified fear of the defendant,” read Willis’ bond order—signed February 6, 2025. “[We] shall address that and all other issues, if and when, the defendant improves sufficiently and can be brought before this court.”
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Labeled an “unusual bond structure,” Willis’ release appears to have been negotiated by the office of S.C. twelfth circuit solicitor Ed Clements — referred to as a “weak-kneed” prosecutor by FITSNews founding editor Will Folks in 2021.
Despite previous “abominations,” per Folks, Clements’ latest deal appears to have come after Willis suffered a “severe stroke” behind bars. Deemed “incapacitated,” he was classified as neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.
“Marion County has neither the facilities nor the resources to care for [Willis] in his current state,” noted his bond order. “If his health improves, this very well could change the circumstances and he may become a flight risk or a danger.”
Now released from custody because of his condition, Willis remains under constant surveillance… because of his condition.
Despite a bond order acknowledging a lack of resources to care for Willis, his arresting agency is now responsible for tracking his location, conducting in-person visits with his family and checking in with his alleged victim — every single day.
“The [MCSO] deputy that visits [Willis] is to send a detailed text message to [Seals] directly after each visit,” noted an addendum order for his bond — filed February 7, 2025. “A written ledger shall be maintained by [MCSO] of the dates, time, and officer’s name that reports…”
Released before his addendum bond order was even filed, Willis’ case raises renewed questions about Clements, judicial discretion and MCSO’s role — an agency that has remained consistently responsive throughout our fact-finding process.
The sheriff’s office respectfully declined to comment on Willis, who remains just minutes from the alleged crime spree that initially led to denied bond and segregated confinement.
Both Seals and Clements are to be notified if Willis is seen at a medical facility for any reason.
This report may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Dynal Nolan/FITSNews)
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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2 comments
Hopefully, Victim#1 has since procured a handgun of suitable caliber and reliability, as well as a holster and training in the gun’s use. Hopefully, she keeps it near her when in her home and on her person when away, even when walking to her mail box. We live in weird times.
Hopefully, she does not count on a piece of paper in the form of “a restraining order” to protect her from a dangerous criminal, as so many other women do.
“Weak-kneed” is as it pertains to Ed Clements is grossly understated.