WNBA star Riquna Williams arrested in connection to domestic violence incident: Police

(LAS VEGAS) — WNBA star Riquna Williams was arrested Tuesday for alleged domestic violence against her wife, according to a Las Vegas police report.

Williams is being charged with nine counts, including three felony counts of strangulation, one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of coercion with threat of use of physical force and four counts of domestic violence, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) arrest report.

Williams accused her spouse of being unfaithful, according to the police report.

The Las Vegas Aces player took her wife’s electronic devices, credit cards and identification card, and left to stay at a hotel, LVMPD said. Williams returned and allegedly logged into an account, found evidence of cheating, and then punched and kicked her wife, eventually allegedly strangling her, Las Vegas police said.

Williams allegedly told her wife while she was strangling her, “I’ll kill you here and walk to the jail myself,” according to the police report.

A lawyer for Williams did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Williams denied being the primary aggressor during the incident, claiming she was the victim, according to the police report.

Williams was released from custody on Wednesday, according to court records. Her next court appearance is on Aug. 2.

The fight allegedly lasted about an hour, according to authorities. Police noted injuries to the victim’s body, including a scratch on her throat, a welt on one of her eyebrows and a scratch on her right thumb.

The Las Vegas Aces said in a statement that Williams won’t be allowed to participate in any team activities.

“As an organization, we condemn domestic violence of any kind. At this time, Riquna Williams will be precluded from participating in team activities,” the Aces said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Our thoughts are with the parties involved in this situation. We are currently gathering more information, and as such we will not have any further comments at this time.”

The WNBPA, the union representing WNBA players, said in a statement Wednesday, “We have been advised of the situation involving one of our members in Las Vegas. We are monitoring the situation and have no further comment at this time.”

Williams joined the Las Vegas Aces before the 2021 WNBA season, only playing 21 games for the team last year because of an injury to her foot, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.