***Updated to reflect arrest of suspect.
MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Update, 3/16 12:50 p.m.: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) says the standoff in The Villages came to an end Saturday around 10:30 a.m. with the arrest of 54-year-old James Savage.
MCSO says its Negotiations and SWAT Units were able to get Savage to surrender peacefully.
Savage now faces domestic battery and kidnapping charges stemming from an incident that occurred in the Wildwood Police Department’s jurisdiction. Meantime, he now also faces charges related to the standoff situation.
Savage says in the Marion County Jail.
Update, 3/15 4:57 p.m.: Multiple law enforcement agencies are trying to bring a standoff in The Villages to an end. The situation has been unfolding since late Thursday night when the Wildwood Police Department (WPD) responded to a domestic violence call that turned into a search for a 60-year-old abducted woman.
Currently, WPD officers along with deputies from the Sumter and Marion County Sheriff’s Offices (SCSO and MCSO) have surrounded a home in the SE 174th Belhaven Loop area in the north end of The Villages where they say a “domestic violence suspect” has barricaded himself.
Due to heavy law enforcement presence in the area, authorities say you should expect road closures.
MCSO confirmed the suspect is 54-year-old James A. Savage.
The Timeline
WPD says it all started around 10 p.m. Thursday at a home at 6056 Hall Place in Wildwood around 11:11 p.m.
Officers say Savage got into an argument with 60-year-old Marivel Dunn, forcefully slammed her to the ground, and then abducted her.
They say he forced her into his 2018 black Mercedes-Benz S series and took off law enforcement arrived on the scene.
WPD says Savage and Dunn are in a relationship and lived together at multiple locations.
Around 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 15, the police department posted to social media security camera video that showed the moments leading up the abduction.
At 11:00 a.m., Savage’s vehicle was located by authorities. Savage and Dunn’s whereabouts were still unknown at that time and WPD said they believed they were traveling in Dunn’s 2020 black BMW 330i or on foot.
At 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Wildwood Police Chief Randall Palmer shared an update with media. Palmer says the two were visiting a friend’s home and Dunn did not want to leave with Savage, prompting the altercation.
Update from Wildwood Police Chief Randall Palmer
At 1:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, Dunn was safely located, according to the police department.
As of 1:35 p.m., multiple law enforcement agencies tracked Savage to the home on Belhaven Loop in The Villages.
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