Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies helped Louisiana authorities arrest a Gainesville man Tuesday after he reportedly kidnapped a local woman Monday.
About 10 a.m. Monday, a woman left the City College campus without bringing her cell phone, purse and other belongings, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Brandon Kutner said. She called friends about an hour later and asked them to pick her son up from daycare, but she didn’t offer more information, Kutner said.
At about 8 p.m., her friends called the Sheriff’s Office after receiving text messages and calls from the woman, who used an unknown number and only responded with yes-or-no answers.
"They could tell something was wrong," Kutner said.
At about 2:35 a.m. Tuesday, a deputy called the woman, who said her son’s father, Curtis Williams, 29, was holding her at gunpoint, Kutner said.
"(A deputy) was able to keep her on the phone by using a ruse," he said, adding that the deputy pretended to be a doctor calling about her son’s fever.
Authorities traced the call to Harvey, Louisiana, and the U.S. Marshals Service’s Regional Fugitive Task Force eventually found Williams’ car in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, according to a press release. Williams came outside to use his car, and marshals arrested him before finding the woman inside, according to the release.
Kutner said Williams will be transferred to Gainesville to face kidnapping charges and an Aug. 10 warrant for battery involving the woman.
Contact Giuseppe Sabella at gsabella@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Gsabella
