James Ransone ‘saved’ woman from suffering sexual assault at hands of violent attacker in 2006

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Nearly 20 years ago in New York City, a woman says James Ransone intervened and saved her from a sexual assault, acting as a Good Samaritan.

It’s with a heavy heart that I share the news, coming just days after the incredibly talented Michael K. Williams, best known for his role in The Wire, sadly passed away. Authorities have confirmed he was found at his home in Southern California, and it appears he died by suicide. It’s a devastating loss, and my thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

Molly Watts, known as @mollyxxwatts on Instagram, shared a story about how a man named Ransone intervened and saved her from a sexual assault in New York City’s Chinatown.

I generally keep to myself, but I wanted to publicly express how thankful I am that this man was in my life. I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if it weren’t for him,” Watts shared on social media, along with a link to a GoFundMe page supporting Ransone’s family.

Watts explained that she and Ransone knew each other as neighbors in Chinatown and shared friends before recounting a terrifying attack she experienced in 2006. Ransone was the one who came to her rescue.

Daily Mail has reached out to Watts for further comment. 

‘I was attacked at the threshold of our building,’ Watts said. ‘I screamed for help. No one came. 

‘My attacker put his hands around my throat so I would stop making noise. I couldn’t breathe.’

Watts stated she felt absolutely certain she would either die or be sexually assaulted while she was being choked into unconsciousness.

Watts said Ransone heard her screaming and rushed to help, quickly resolving the problem.

According to Watts, a man came running towards them without a shirt, wielding either a bat or a pipe – he couldn’t tell which. This scared off the person who was attacking him, and they ran away.

According to Watts, Ransone pursued the attacker to the building where he ran, and this chase helped police identify him as a known sex offender.

Watts believes Ransone prevented a sexual assault, and that his actions dramatically improved her life by protecting her from that trauma.

Watts often wonders if her life would be different if that night hadn’t unfolded as it did. She admits that even now, as an adult, she struggles to imagine coping with the potential consequences and the emotional recovery process, especially considering how vulnerable she already was.

Watts expressed regret for not contacting Ransone to thank him for rushing to her aid when she screamed.

Ransone spoke publicly about the incident in 2016 on SiriusXM’s the Jim and Sam Show.   

I was at home watching TV with my girlfriend, and I was only wearing pajama pants,” he explained. “It was April, and it was drizzling, when I suddenly heard someone yell for help.

I heard a disturbance coming from downstairs and immediately went to investigate. When I got there, I saw my upstairs neighbor lying on the ground, and a man was attacking her – it looked like he was sexually assaulting her.

I heard from Ransone that when things started going wrong, his first instinct was to tell his girlfriend to call 911. Then, incredibly bravely, he actually went towards the danger, armed with something to protect himself and hopefully stop the attacker. It was a really selfless thing to do.

I rushed downstairs and opened the door to find her lying on the ground, and the attacker was already gone. I grabbed a metal pipe – there’s always scrap metal lying around in an old building in Chinatown – and held onto it.

After hitting the attacker in the shoulder with a pipe, he was then attacked himself. The man slammed his arm in a door as he ran into a building.

The attacker was eventually caught by police and taken into custody, Ransone said. 

Ransone explained that after the man was arrested a few hours later, she had to identify him in a police lineup and then testify against him in court. She wasn’t sure what the final outcome of the case was, but that’s what happened, as she recalled.

James Ransone was most famous for playing the troubled dockworker Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of HBO’s The Wire.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve always been fascinated by stories that really dig into the heart of communities, and the second season of David Simon’s incredible series does just that. It takes a really close look at what happened when the economic landscape shifted for the hardworking dockworkers in Baltimore, and the challenges they faced as a result. It’s a powerful portrayal of a city in transition and the people caught in the middle.

The story showed how, when work was slow at the docks, some employees – like Ziggy, played by Ransone – made extra money by secretly bringing in illegal goods.

The Baltimore crew unknowingly brought in a variety of smuggled goods, including illegal drugs and women who were tragically forced into sex work in the United States.

Ransone appeared in several well-known television series, including “Generation Kill,” “Treme,” “Bosch,” and “Poker Face.”

He’s also acted in several films, such as ‘It: Chapter Two’ (2019), ‘The Black Phone’ (2021), and the upcoming ‘Black Phone 2’ (2025).

If you’re going through a difficult time or are in crisis, please reach out for help. You can connect with trained counselors by calling or texting 988, or by chatting online at 988lifeline.org.

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2025-12-24 06:34