Kidnap Suspect Arrested
A Crestview man is in custody without bond in the Okaloosa County Jail charged with kidnapping and assault after he allegedly abducted and beat his girlfriend.
Anthony Dewayne McLeod, 27, of Crestview, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at the Laurel Hill home of his grandmother by the U.S. Marshals North Florida Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. McLeod was being sought on charges of First Degree Felony Kidnapping, as well as a First Degree Misdemeanor Battery Charge and Second Degree Assault.
According to a sheriff’s report, the 20-year-old victim, McLeod’s girlfriend and mother of his daughter, alleged that he showed up at her job, forced her into a car and drove her to a remote road and then beat her repeatedly. The victim then stated that he forced her into the trunk of the car, drove her to a cemetery, and threatened to kill her. She further alleged that McLeod then stated he had dug a grave in the woods and told her to walk out there and get in it. McLeod then drove back to the residence they both shared and allowed her to shower. Eventually, the victim was able to flee from the home and call 911 from a local business.
Deputy Marshals from Pensacola and Task Force members from the sheriff’s Office initially thought that McLeod had fled the area and possibly left the state but learned during their investigation that he was still hiding out locally. The Marshals Task Force caught up with McLeod at a residence on Helms Farm Road in Laurel Hill where he was placed into custody without incident.
“We thought we had a long investigation in front of us, the kind that leads late into the night,” said U.S. Marshals spokesman Deputy Marshal Dominic Guadagnoli. “We caught a quick break however and wrapped him up just as fast,” Guadagnoli said.
McLeod will also be charged with a misdemeanor drug charge after the Task Force found marijuana in his possession.
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