Evans' lawyers file 300+ pages claiming JCPD corruption

Mikayla Evans' attorneys submitted a trove of new documents to support their claims that Johnson City police officers took bribes and mishandled sexual assault investigations to protect convicted sex offender Sean Williams. Much of the new documents submitted in the U.S. District Court Thursday contain justifications for several of the lawsuit's claims with references to over 300 pages of evidence exhibits. The attorneys' justifications reference evidence, including video footage of JCPD officers seizing a gold necklace from Williams' safe and numerous financial statements that suggest money laundering. Evans' lawyers responded to the city's motion for summary judgement, demanding a jury trial. "Defendant's (Johnson City) reliance on inadmissible hearsay, misinterpreted suspicions, and incomplete evidence does not entitle it to summary judgment," the response read. In a supplemental response to the motion for summary judgement, Evans' attorneys called the city's defense "hypocritical" for concluding the Evans' claims were made in "bad faith." "Defendants' conclusory statements that Plaintiff's reliance on the allegations in the Doe and Dahl Complaints are in "bad faith" are warrantless—and indeed hypocritical, given the Defendants simultaneously argue Plaintiff was already on notice of her harm prior to filing her original Complaint on June 10, 2024," Evans' attorneys wrote. In response the newly submitted evidence and claims, Keisha Shoun, Johnson City spokeswoman, said they would not provide a statement until after the city's attorneys files a response. "The City is aware of the filing made late last night, and our attorneys are currently reviewing it. We plan to file a response next week and should be able to provide a statement at that time," Shoun wrote in an email. The filing from Evans' attorneys was submitted in response to U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer's demand for more evidence before granting a jury trial. Evans' attorneys submitted their response late Thursday night, hours before the end of Greer's Feb. 5 deadline. The lawsuit, filed in 2024 by Kingsport resident Evans, alleges that Johnson City Police Department took bribes to protect convicted sex criminal Sean Williams. In September 2020, Evans fell five stories from Williams' Main Street apartment in downtown Johnson City and suffered life-threatening injuries. She also claims Williams pushed her out of his apartment window after drugging and attempting to sexually assault her. Greer, the judge who's overseeing Evans' case, sentenced Williams to 95 years in prison in February 2025 for production of child porn and his escape from custody, following a nationwide manhunt that led to his final arrest in November 2023.