A man police arrested after they caught him driving erratically in Akron over the weekend is linked to a woman who was found dead in a Cuyahoga Falls apartment.
The 27-year-old woman was found dead at an apartment on Howe Avenue Saturday around 7:15 p.m.
The woman, later identified as Ashley Michelle Williams by the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office, suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Williams had been reported as a missing person to the Akron Police Department on Saturday around 7:06 p.m. by her family.
The report indicated she was last seen Friday at 9:45 p.m.
According to Akron police, Williams was supposed to meet Marcus Coker, her ex-boyfriend, in an apartment in Cuyahoga Falls.
That same night, police tried to pull Coker over for driving erratically. Officers say he was driving 60 to 80 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood and then ran into a parked car.
Coker ignored commands to get out of the car, forcing police to fire a shot into the car — a white Jetta belonging to Williams.
Police later learned that Coker had several warrants out for his arrest involving a domestic dispute that happened just two days earlier. He reportedly went to another ex-girlfriend's house, kicked in the front door and assaulted her.
Cuyahoga Falls police would not say whether Coker was a suspect in Williams' death.
According to court records, Coker has been charged with domestic violence in Akron Municipal Court at least twice before. In June 2016, he was charged with domestic violence but pleaded down to an assault charge. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail but 164 of those days were suspended. For the remaining 16 days of his sentence, he got credit for time served.
Coker was again charged with domestic violence in July of this year. In August, he pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of assault. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 165 days of which were suspended. He was given credit for time served for the other 15 days, according to court records.
Last year, News 5 reported that a vast number of domestic violence abusers rarely spend a day behind bars because of plea deals. The 5 On Your Side Investigators reviewed nearly 700 felony domestic violence cases filed in Cuyahoga County in 2015.
In addition, we found 582 of nearly 700 felony abusers struck plea deals leading to reduced charges, including when guns are involved.
Only 161 abusers actually went to prison, and only 180 spent time in jail.
